Climax Crisis (Remake)
by Cosmo.camellia
Summary: In a struggle to stop Izanami in destroying the world, Jin and Tsubaki must learn to work together as a pair to stop and defeat the infamous goddess. While Ragna and the rest struggle their way to a unobtainable future.
1. Awakening Nightmare

**Climax Crisis: Chapter 1: Awakening Nightmare**

* * *

 _His emerald eyes opened up to a golden sky that lingered above him as a ice cold breeze had awaken him from his slumber on top of a hill top. "It's so peaceful." He mumbled to himself happily as he felt the long grass gently brush against his body as the tree beside him swayed back and forth in the breeze in a rather soothing manner._

 _"It really is~"_

 _Jin sat up to find Tsubaki who was dressed in a mid-length dress that looked godlike with it's design. Her head was tilted upwards to the sky above as she gazed at the golden glow of the sunset._

 _Her mere smile was breath taking to him, as it gave him a sense of warmth and comfort in his darkened world. In a instant he turned his head away from her gaze in attempts to cover up his heating cheeks, despite her eyes had already catched a glimpse of the red dusted cheeks._

 _He cleared his throat, "So... where are we?"_

 _Tsubaki giggled as she threw herself at Jin; wrapping her arms around him as she did. "What do you mean, silly?"_

 _Jin wrapped a single arm around her slender body as he replied, "It's just... I don't remember how we got here. I don't remember anything apart from-" At that moment he stopped himself as a vision of himself being beaten by some kind of black beast, whilst Tsubaki was carried from him. He let out a gasp as he pushed Tsubaki off him as he found himself shaking._

 _"J-Jin, what's wrong?! You look like you've seen a ghost." She exclaimed in a distorted version of her voice._

 _Hearing her voice; Jin turned and gasped as he looked at his childhood friend. Her eyes were no longer visible and she now possessed a razor tooth-like grin. "WHOA!?" Jin yelped as he sprung to his feet while the scenery around him became pitch black. He looked frantically for Tsubaki, however it would seem that he was all alone._

 _"You're all alone now." He heard a familiar voice claw it's way into his ear and by the mere tone it caused the hair on his body to stand straight._

 _"S-Saya?!" He muttered._

 _"You're the reason why she's gone again, Jin. You've been selfish, cruel and shut her out... This... this is the price you pay." He looked behind him to see his purple haired sister standing there as she held Tsubaki's body within her skeletal arms. "Because of who you are... I shall grant the both of you... death."_

 _Before Jin could even muster a response he found himself being showered in black ooze, making it hard for him to even breathe as the ooze burned it's way into Jin's mouth and down to the back of his throat, spreading like forest fire as it made his skin twinge. "GGGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

Jin gasped deeply as he shot up in his bed, looking around frantically to find himself in a room that resembled a NOL medical bay. He then looked down to the hospital gown that was now glistened with his sweat. "So you've finally decided to wake up, JinJin?"

The blonde looked to the left and what he saw left him baffled, "Taro?" The dark skin and haired man beside him was none other then one of his roommates from the Military Academy. "Of all places to be... what are you doing here?" He asked in a hostile tone, "N-nevermind that, what day is it; and what happened to me?"

Jin asked as he threw the white bed sheets off him as he attempted to get out of bed. Only to find himself stumbling as soon as he got to his feet. "Whoa! Calm down, JinJin. You're in no shape to move around after what happened to you." Taro said as he helped the blonde to get back into his bed.

Jin looked at Taro as he felt disorientated, last he knew he was watching his childhood friend being carried away from him, yet he couldn't remember why they were running. "Taro, get straight to the point... Do you know where Tsubaki is?"

Before Taro could even answer to Jin at that very moment the two men heard the oak door slowly creek open. The person who slowly pushed the door and entered had spiky black hair and a loosely fitted white shirt with black silk pants. He was none other then Kagura Mutsuki, Taro's cousin.

"Hey cous!" Taro cheered as he waved his arms around in excitement from the mere sight of his relative.

"Well, well, well... it seems like our friend Jinny decided to finally wake up, Taro." Kagura snickered to his cousin as he strolled to the end of the bed Jin laid in. He then let out a playful smirk aimed at the injured blonde, knowing full well that he was rattling Jin up like always.

"K-Kagura!" Jin sprung up in his bed, finding himself compelled to ask, "Kagura, what happened to me?"

Kagura let a pout from Jin's straight forward attitude. He just couldn't possibly understand why he always had to be on top of everything, couldn't Jin ease up and just relax for once? Kagura thought to himself through a sigh, "Always straight to the point with you, isn't it?" Kagura let out yet another sigh before responding to Jin's question, "You were ambushed by the Imperator. She ended up placing a spell on your bodies to stop you from moving. Makoto did mention that she managed to break free, however she did manage to grab Noel and Tsubaki and escaped. You on the other hand... well, apparently before the girls left they told me that Ragna had turned into the Black Beast.

Kagura placed his hands into his pockets as he circled around the bed and strolled over to the window. "When I found you... you were all mangled. You're lucky to be alive, let alone not having any broken bones..." He looked to the blonde who was wrapped in bandages up to his head with pity.

"Very well... So tell me, where is Tsubaki, Kagura?" Jin looked around in curiosity as he found it rather surprising to see that Tsubaki wasn't there, latching to his side to make sure that he was alright. After all, this was the woman who would set aside everything else just to make sure that he was alright.

"Well Tsubaki is-"

"Only the truth, Kagura."

"She's within the city, helping and aiding those who are in need."

Jin frowned in response to Kagura, sending the man on the edge of his nerves. After all he knew that Jin hated lies, so whenever Kagura wouldn't be honest with him it sent him almost insane from the stress. "What do you mean that she's aiding those in need? What on earth happened?"

"Well, you know her. She's got a big heart... and arse." Kagura then cleared his throat as he answered to Jin, "Ever since we all split off, suddenly people within the cities have been getting really ill... But, I'm sure it's just a small malfunction in the Ars." Kagura then slowly made his way over to the door as he looked to Jin once more. "For now just try not to worry about anything. I've got to go and check in with Kokonoe, so I'll come and check back with you soon."

"Kagura wait!" Jin called out to the black knight, only to be silence by Kagura closing the door behind him, leaving the blonde with his excitable cousin.

"Well that was... different." Taro muttered rather nervously underneath his breath since he knew the longer he stayed in the same room with Jin, the more Jin will be eager to play twenty questions with him until he got the answers he wanted.

"Taro~" Jin smirked evilly as he watched Taro's panic expression like a hawk and it's prey.

"Jin?! O-Oh, no! Com'on, don't do this man!"

* * *

Once Kagura shut the bulky wooden door, he came across a sweet young girl with soft brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail with a silk red ribbon. "Ohh, Kagura!" She called out softly, "May I ask but, why did you tell Jin that Tsubaki was still in the city?" Kagura walked beside the young girl who was originally on her way to see Jin to heal his wounds, since she was one of the only mages left in the world, especially since her magic consisted with healing capabilities that could help Jin's grave wounds. However, due to her air head personality running into Kagura had completely distracted her.

Kagura closed his eyes for a moment while responding, "Well think about it. Tsubaki up and left us with nothing but a small letter to go off..."

"But, she mentioned that she was going after Ragna to... k-kill him." Her words broke as she felt a stinging pain in her heart, while her soft pink eyes began to water from her distress. After all, she had developed strong feelings for the silver haired man through her past experiences with him. She couldn't help it, she mostly loved the cool personality he had with a bit of a bad boy attitude. So the mere thought of Ragna being hunted like a deer pulled at her heart strings.

"She did... but, she also mentioned wanting to help people. So I wasn't lying completely about where Tsubaki was." He let out a sigh as he continued, "Besides, this was mainly for Jin's safety."

"Jin's safety?!"

"Well think about it, with the state Jin's body is in now, how do you think Jin would react if he were to find out about Tsubaki?" Kagura stopped and turned to Celica who's facial expression bluntly displayed that she wasn't following what Kagura meant. "He would jump at a instant to follow her just to make sure that she's safe... and of course to scold her silly for leaving in the first place."

"Awwww~~ That's so romantic! Jin and Tsubaki really do love each other very much, don't they?" Celica let out a angelic smile at the thought of the very wanted couple, to Kagura's dismay though as once again she was ignoring him.

"Ah Celica baby, You're not following again!" Kagura grumbled as he felt irritated by the innocent, air headed nature she possessed. Yet, it always caught his eye in a inflation manner.

Kagura sighed as he continued walking along side Celica down the hallway and down the stairs, while strolling down the elaborate hallway together Kagura's mind began to wonder. _'Everything has been so hectic lately. I at least hope everything is alright on Tsubaki's end... Hopefully she hasn't found Ragna yet, not until we have found him first at least. Which reminds me..'_

The two of them had reached the end of the first floor hallway and at the end they found the entrance to the Mutsuki manor and a small door that lead to the basement. "Sorry Celica, but do you mind if I go down alone? It's just I needed to speak with Kokonoe about some important issues." He kindly requested in a seductive tone, that of course flew over her head once more with his 'subtlety'.

"Oh, of course. I'll see you later then, Kagura!" She waved to him as she let out a brightful smile before turning away as she made her way down the hallway.

Kagura took a deep breath before knocking on the door, he heard a muffled response of the word 'enter' before he carefully pushed the door wide open as he made his way down another flight of stairs. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he found himself inside a small laboratory completed with metal walls and various computers and devices all over the room.

Kagura, about time." He turned to see a cat beastkin standing there in the middle of her organised mess of a room. She had two pink tails complete with matching cat ears and long hair. Her golden cat eyes stared at Kagura eager to give him the updates he requested.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I ran into Celica an-"

"Just cut the chit chat and just listen to what I have to say.." Kagura knew she was rather rude and cold towards others, but lately she was acting rather strained and distraught. Which truth be told was the usual for her life, however Kagura knew the more you bottle things up, the more you'll get close to a breaking point.

"So this is what we've gotten on the situation thus far..." She grabbed out a note pad that had various scribbles written on it for her to read out. "The levels of concentrated seithr within the cities are at a min-able rate."

"Wait, what?!" Kagura gasped as his head was thrown into a loop.

"Look, I don't have a answer for this one. But, my educated guess is that the seithr is being drained, possibly to the boundary since there's no indication of any large quantity of concentrated seithr." Kokonoe then continued on with a more darker news for the Black Knight. "There's more... there have been reports of the majority of people within the lower depths of the cities have been eroding away into what witness' claimed as 'clouds of seithr'."

"None of this makes sense, Kokonoe. How on earth can people just 'disappear' into seithr?" Kagura snapped as his face tensed up while his mind began to spin. "Kokonoe, at least tell me... have we-"

"No," Kokonoe abruptly stopped the black haired man, "We still have been unsuccessful of locating neither Izanami or Ragna. We've combed most of the Hierarchical cities for any signs of them but, we haven't been able to turn up with anything."

Kagura sighed deeply as he placed a hand over his eyes, "Have you guys at least-"

"No, I'm sorry. Homura is still missing. I've already sent search parties to each other the cities within the Ikaurga Federation, so the chances are that he's managed to slip out of the Federations border are the most likely conclusion."

Kagura took his hand off his face as sweat dripped from his forehead, his master had entrusted her child to him, to protect and raise Homura into a great leader. Unfortunately though, he has failed to protect Homura and now the small child was out there all own his own. "...Ugh..." The black haired man slowly walked towards the exit of the room, only for Kokonoe to call out to him.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I-I need to go and get some air." The man grumbled in response as he dragged his feet up the stairs. Once he reached the top of the stairs and closed the basement door behind him, he ran into his loyal servant Hibiki Kohaku.

"Colonel Mutsuki, is everything alright my lord?" The slender stature boy asked as he followed behind his tower boss towards the entrance of the family manor.

Kagura turned his head over his shoulder away from Hibiki as he grunted, "No, we still haven't found our lord and this is all my fault... I should of never let the young lord come with us." The man's voice was gruff and his eyes squinted as he pulled a cigar out of the small box in his pant's pocket. As Kagura placed it onto his lips and began to lit the cigar a foul taste filled his mouth as he breathed in, as if he was inhaling fumes of smoke mixed with the stench of sewage. He longed for it to help calm his nerves so that he could hash out a new strategy to help find his lord and the enemy, but to his dismay, all the smoke caused was more anxiety and stress then before.

Watching his master fall to his deepest depression, Hibiki felt a urge tug within his mind, the need to go and find the young lord himself. After all, with the type of background and training Hibiki has a child, he knew he was the best fit to save their lord. His loyalty to Kagura however, strained his will to go in search. To him, despite his wishes, whatever Kagura's orders were Hibiki would follow through them to the end. Never disobeying his boss.

Although, he knew gradually those feelings would slowly evolve into a selfish will.

* * *

Within a lash yet, darkened forest that surrounded the outskirts of the Ikaruga Federation the young red headed maiden Tsubaki Yayoi slowly strolled along the path within the depths. Her sapphire eyes squinted from the sight up a head of her, there was few wolf looking creatures made from a blackened mist that dawned red eyes that illuminated in a eerie manner.

Her slender fingers slide onto the handle of her ruby dagger before gripping it tightly in her grasp. She stopped in her tracks once the monsters sensed her presence and locked their eyes onto her tender looking flesh as their mouths gaped open with lowly growls. Before they could react fast enough, Tsubaki with-drew her blade and swung it as it formed into a bladed whip as it swung across, cutting each of the monster's heads off in one clean sweep.

Once the bodies of the black mist hit the ground as they eroded away, Tsubaki placed her sword away while still keeping her guard up. She let a soft gasp of air escape her lips as she raised her gaze to the tree tops meters above her. _'It's been ten days since I started searching for Homura... and it's been two days since I left Ikaurga on 'her' request to find Ragna but, how do I find him?'_

She looked down and around, all her eyes could see was trees, grass and the darkness that foreshadowed the dread and the unknown that lerked beyond her. _'I really hope that Jin's alright.'_ At the moment of thinking of Jin, she had a flashback to when Makoto carried her away over the squirrel's shoulder and how she watched Jin get beaten half to death by the monster Ragna had molded into. "AH!" Tsubaki fell to her knee's and clutched her ears while trying to drown out the agonizing screams of Jin's. "J-Jin." Her eyes opened slightly as a tear rolled down one of her burning cheeks before falling onto the dirt below her as she felt her heart become heavy. "I-it's okay, Jin's okay! Calm down!" She took a few deep breathes to help calm herself down.

The moment of induced anxiety was cut short as she felt a small gust of wind rushed past behind her as it made a silent whisper. Her eyes burst open as it struck fear within her. "Please, don't..." She gasped out lightly out before rising to her feet as she began to scamper down the dusted path in hope to escape from those eyes. These eyes that believed they still could control her.

* * *

 **Word Count:** **3,267**

 **A/N:** **Hey guys, back with my new improved remake of what used to be my favorite story to work on ^_^; But anyways, I'm sorry if the quality of the story was a little lacking. Lately I've been dealing with a few things and my ability to write has been affected. But, hopefully all will get sorted. I was pleased with the dream scene though since my boyfriend for the start was a bit of a proof reader for me so, thank you Chris XX I will mention though, I did have a extra scene pulled from this chapter which I'll add to chapter 2. So look out for the next chapter, thank you for reading everyone, please leave me some feed-back/reviews as I highly appreciate criticism and pointers for my work and I'll see you all in the next chapter of whatever I update next, bye!**


	2. Trapped

_**Chapter 2: Trapped**_

* * *

A woman's lips pursed into a smirk as she allowed her ruby eyes to observe the young solider. "Nawww, your thoughts go to the balancer of this world? You foolish child, you... belong to me." The vision of Tsubaki began to fade away as the woman wrapped a hand onto her mouth as she let out a giggle of amusement before her sight on the red head completely faded. The woman then turned around and headed towards the exit. This woman who observed Tsubaki was none other then Izanami, the previous Imperator of the NOL and was the very woman who pitied Tsubaki against her childhood friend.

To her Tsubaki was the perfect tool for her revenge against Jin, after all she needed to do was become a puppeteer in Tsubaki's mind once again and she would have her way, but she was patient. Unlike her previous lacky Hazama, she would wait for the perfect timing to destroy her foe's lives. She was cruel like that, she would always wait until everyone was calm and felt safe and then destroy everything they held dear. It was her sense of pleasure.

The corrupted woman twirled one of her lender fingers around a lock of her purple hair as she quietly strolled out of what could have been described as a miners shack and into a wet dewy cavern where a large beast slept in the middle of it's ice cold floor. Luckily for her there was only a single entrance to this underground cavern and it was hidden beneath a tangled mess of vines, making it the perfect place for her to keep Ragna's now imprisoned body.

She then crept closer to the dormant beast that embodied the man once known as Ragna the Bloodedge and a young girl with long silver plated hair named Nu-13. Izanami used the two of them to recreate the legendary Black Beast, a hindrance that had been dead for nearly a hundred years. This creature made it's mark in history as the very thing that killed almost every living person in the entire world and intoxicating the earth's soil and air with sithre.

She knelt down as she marveled at what she considered 'beautiful' before running the palm of her hand down it's snout as she allowed her soft skin to drag over it's brittle scales. "My dear big brother, you are thy will to live, my passion to burn this world in your flames of destruction." She knelt down further as she placed her forehead onto the snout's jaggered texture. "Rest for now, dear brother." She whispered, "Let your dreams reveal to you our past." She let out a sly smirk as she watched the beast face twitch with discomfort. "I'll show you who we are."

* * *

 _A moderately young slender woman walked down through a dreary metal covered hallway as she felt eager to reach the end where a small wooden door was located. The light brown timber was a vast contrast to the rest of the building as it created a warmer atmosphere._

 _She stopped at the door as she smiled, looking down to the door's handle as she allowed her silver silk-like hair fall slightly in front of her eyes. Not often would she feel true bliss and compassion within the facility she lived in, however what was hidden behind the oak door was the most extraordinary thing in her life._

 _As she swung the door open she was greeted by two very boys who threw themselves at her, wrapping their small arms around her waist in a tight manner as the blonde boys greeted their mother. "Mummy, you're back!" They called out in unison as they continued to hug her tightly._

 _"Ah, my sweet angels. Coming to see the both of you each and every day, it is my one joy and pleasure in life." She then playfully teased, "Especially when I get to see those adorable chubby smiles of yours." She gently reached over to Jin's face as she gently squeezed one of his cheeks, causing him to let out a giggle as he felt his mother's fingers brush against his skin._

 _The three members of their family were rather close, especially the bond the two brothers shared, after all they spent their entire lives between those four walls, alone together since both their parents were always so busy with their work. Jin especially looked up to his older brother in high regards, to him being in this room to play with Ragna, was his version of paradise. From a outsiders view, they were the perfect pair of brothers._

 _"Mummy, why have you been gone so long?" Ragna exclaimed as his big green eyes stared at her until he got a response._

 _Giggling in amusement of Ragna's up the front personality she responded with a cheeky come back, "Well, why did I see the two of you rascals sneaking around the laboratory like mice today?" Both the boys eyes burst open as they realized that they've been caught red handed._

 _Jin began to sniffle as he didn't want his father to find out as well. "Mummy, please don't tell daddy that we were exploring again!" Ragna begged as he didn't want another ruler smacked across the palm of his hand again._

 _She knelt down and gave the boys a big warm hug as she wrapped them within her arms. She couldn't blame her children for wondering out of that small room, being within the same never changing walls would drive herself insane as well. It pained her because most of their days she would be too busy helping their father's research to the point where Ragna practically raised Jin. She knew at times the boys would sneak out of their room to go adventuring in the facility and would check out their parent's experiments. She personally never knew why any of them had to be there. She couldn't even remember how she ended up in the facility, the only thing she was certain of was that she absolutely loved her family to the ends of the earth._

 _"It's alright, honey." She wiped the tears from Jin's face with her thumb while with her other hand to gently pat Ragna's head. "We'll let it slip once more." She smirked as her eyes gazed lovingly at her two angels._

* * *

Standing alone in a black void Ragna stood silently as he watched that memory of his play out. He had no recollection of any of it as his furthest memory back was a memory of Jubei saving him from a explosion. "What... what the hell was that?" He blurted out as he stricken with chills, "Was... was that my mother?"

He felt two arms wrap around his neck from behind as he heard a giggle coming from behind him, "Of course it was, silly." The girl who giggled was someone who Ragna thought had died, her name was Nu and he despised this silver haired girl.

"Don't touch me, you pile of shit." He grumbled as he grinded his teeth together. She was the reason why he was stuck in this place. After all, he had one half of a Azure Grimoire and she had the other half. Ever since their bodies were combined into a mess of hatred and sorrow they were able to create a black beast.

"Aww, that's not very nice, Ragna." She taunted as she let go of him only to skip herself in front of him so she could be in his face. "After all, you're stuck with me in here forever now! Can't we just have fun? We're finally together after all." The girl acted as if she was oblivious to Ragna's feelings even through he had been blunt with her since the beginning.

"Get out of my FACE!" Ragna snapped as he swung his arm at her, impacting her face with the palm of his hand with enough force to send her sprawling into the ground.

She let out a psychotic laughter as she replied, "Yes, Ragna! More, MORE! I love it when your rough with me!" On the ground she raised her arms outwards to Ragna, begging him to brutally kill her. After all, her blood lust was the only way she could express her feelings for the silver haired man.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ragna snapped as he marched past her to walk further away from her to go deeper into the pitch black of the void.

She sat herself up as she watched him walk away in amusement. "Hehehe, you'll never leave here. Izanami promised me that you'll connect with your inner hatred for the world, heheheh, then we will be able to move our body once and will kill everyone!" The girl muttered under her breath as she gazed at his body suductivly, her ruby eyes followed her one desire and that desire was to destroy the world with him.

* * *

While the body of the beast continued to slumber Izanami took a visit to a space between two dimensions, a place that looked similar to the void both Ragna and Nu are trapped in, however this void was like being in space with the glinted of stars surrounding one. As Izanami feet tapped against what could be considered the floor as she soon neared a large figure that was hanging upside down in the voids center. His limbs were all chained to a upside down cross, allowing his long blue hair to fall to the ground beneath.

"Who goes there?" A deep gruff voice lowly growled as he looked up to where Izanami stood before him with his blood colored eyes.

"You need not to question who I am, for I am your key to freedom." She spoke with a subtle phrase. The blue haired man stayed silent except for a low grunt as his response. "My name is Izanami and I required your assistance."

"What makes you think that I'd help you?"

"In exchange for your assistance I shall grant you freedom and the chance to battle with the most powerful beings on this pathetic earth, you'll however, finally have your desire... A worthy opponent."

He raised one of his bushy eyebrows in response. "I'm listening."

"Mad Dog, I want you to hunt down and kill Tsubaki Yayoi. Do that... and I shall grant your wish to battle with the infamous Grim Reaper and many other powerful warriors." Azreal let out a huge grin once the name she said rolled off her tongue, to him... He will finally get his dream. A chance for an epic battle, him verses the most powerful warriors and to get the chance to finally find a worthy opponent.

* * *

Meanwhile sitting in the bed in Kagura's infirmary, Jin's emerald eyes gazed out the window as it was his only source of entertainment from the more then boring surroundings items in his room. Not that he was able to enjoy the peaceful scenery outside as Taro came bursting through Jin's door, not even bothering to knock.

"Hey JinJin, I brought you some lunch!" Taro cheered out as he strutted into the room, carrying a single bowel on a silver tray with him.

Once Taro placed the tray down onto Jin's lap the blonde pouted as he started at the bland porridge that filled his bowel. "Not cooking anymore are we?" Jin scoffed as the tanned man sat in a chair beside the bed, his emerald eyes not leaving the disappointment in the bowel.

Taro let out a chuckle in response as he scratched at the back of his head, knowing fully well that he had been expecting this cold treatment from the blonde, after all Taro first noticed this foul change in Jin's personality once they left the Academy together. "Of course I am," The dark haired boy chuckled in response as he reached into his pants pocket, grabbing out a small sand which bag that was filled with small cookies before reaching into the plastic cover as he clinged to a single cookie. "Besides, once you get a taste of Hibiki's cooking, why on earth would I ever want to cook again?" He chuckled again before devouring Hibiki's homemade cookies.

Jin squinted his eyes in response to the boy's laid back attitude, he knew Taro had always been like that since they've met at the Academy, yet it always puzzled the blonde greatly. How could someone be so relaxed and so happy all the time? It baffled him as he could sense that it wasn't the whole side to the boy beside him and yet, he still couldn't figure it out.

"So, why are you here?" Jin asked as he picked up his silver spoon and dunked it into his porridge before placing the contains into his mouth.

Taro dropped the cookie that he was about to place into his mouth as he found himself caught off guard. "Well, Kagura is my cousin after all. So I thought I'd come to visit." He scratched at the back of his neck in a nervous manner.

"To choose now of all times to visit now, though... While I'M here..." A smirked formed across Jin's lips as he watched how Taro began to sweat in discomfort.

"Jin, look I'm here for Kagura, I swear!"

"You're always conveniently somewhere near me though... like a ghost. You better start talking, Taro or-"

Jin found himself abruptly interrupted by the sound of his door literally being kicked down as a squirrel came crashing into the room. "JIN, YOU'RE FINALLY AWAAAKKKKE!" The squirrel let out a long cheer as she began to bounce around the room with excitement, landing onto various pieces of furniture before landing onto the very end of Jin's bed to settle down on. "How are you feeling, Jin?" She asked in a gleeful tone as her tail swished back and forth as if she was like a excited puppy waiting to go for a walk.

Jin let out a quiet grumble in response, "I'm fine, thanks." His foul attitude wasn't discrete as he spoke back to the squirrel.

Not a moment after the words left his mouth, quietly behind Makoto crept into the room was her blonde friend Noel. "H-hello, Taro... Major." She stuttered to the men as she quietly stood behind Makoto who was still sitting on the end of the bed.

Jin frowned once his frosted emerald eyes scanned over the blonde figure who dared to enter HIS room. He always held a deep hatred for the girl which many would call his hatred 'irrational', but to him it was logical. He found her voice and personality rather annoying, but what truly drove the guy insane was the fact that she had the sickly sweet face of his little sister Saya. The face reminded him of the pain and anger he felt towards his little sister for taking away his big brother and now, after what Saya had committed recently to his childhood friend Tsubaki... it only boiled his blood more and more to see that face.

Doing his best to withhold his anger, Jin sucked in a large breath of air before choosing carefully how to reply, despite the obvious irritated tone, "So, why are the two of you decided to come here?"

 _'Wow, rude much, dude?'_ Makoto squinted her eyes at the male blonde for a brief moment, not that she was overly bothered by him since he hadn't attacked Noel like usual. Makoto choose to shake off Jin's obvious irritation as she responded to Jin in her usual chirpier tone, "Well, we thought of visiting you since Tsubaki is.. busy."

Jin eyed off the squirrel as his lips pursed downwards to form a frown across his handsome face. "Busy... right." Jin knew something was up! It wasn't like Tsubaki to avoid the opportunity to come see and to make sure that he was alright. She was always there by his side to make sure that he was alright. Hell, in their Academy days she would even go and make him food if he was feeling the slightest bit unwell.

Jin paused for a moment before striking a new topic of conversation with the beastkin, "By the way I've been meaning to thank you for saving Tsubaki. I'm glad she isn't hurt."

The beastkin's ears twitched as she replied, "Oh, I didn't do that for you. She's my friend and I'll always protect my friend to the very end." Her eyes darted slightly to the side as she thought about their red headed friend, the worry in her eyes was obvious to Jin.

"Even if she would wonder off?" Jin slipped in his straight forward question which caused the squirrel's eyes to burst open.

She then slurred in response, "I mean... if she actually decided to take of-"

Down the hallway everyone in Jin's room could clearly hear Kagura down the hallway talking to Hibiki, since the beastkin had completely smashed down the door. The two men were clearly talking about a sensitive subject, "-We've now sent a search party into the forest near the west of here in search for the young lord." Hibiki reported with his quiet words which could clearly be heard from the room causing everyone inside to freeze up as their heads swerved to Jin who sat there with a unsettling smirk.

The two men must've of noticed the door being caved in as they continued to talk as they drew closer to the gap in the room. "As for Tsubaki's whereabouts, I got some of my men to search all the cities within the Federation as you requested, although I'm afraid she must of left the cities... We even check in to see if she had used her passport, however I'm afraid she left the cities on foot as her passport hasn't been registered on any form of transport."

The room fell completely silent as they watched Jin's eyes scan all of them individually as he gave them a eerie glare. Without realizing what had been going on, Hibiki and Kagura raced into the room once they noticed the door had been broken down. "Is everyone alright in here?" Kagura called out as he entered the room, his eyes gazed around the room to make sure no one was harmed. Only to then realize the worried gazes in their eyes that fixated onto Jin who possessed a cold aura around him. "So... I'm guessing you heard all that, huh?" Realizing why the blonde looked aggravated he asked him in a calm manner.

Jin stood out of his bed before walking towards where his jolting sapphire coat sat, picking it up as he made his way to the Black Knight. He gave the Knight a frosted glare. "So much for Tsubaki helping people in the city, huh?"

Kagura squinted his eyes as he folded his arms. "Jin, I know what you're thinking. But, I need you to calm down and listen to me before you do anything rash." Despite Kagura speaking directly at Jin, the blonde continued to ignore him as he grabbed his sword and placing his coat onto his body.

"Move." Jin coldly demanded as he stopped in front of Kagura who was blocking the exit.

The black spiked haired man let out a disappointed sigh as he shook his head in response to Jin's demand. "Jin, please don't be so foolish! Sit down and we can talk about this." Kagura's plea came out more as a demand as he clearly displayed his annoyance towards Jin.'s attitude.

"What is there to talk about, Kagura?" Jin snapped back in response, "Tsubaki's gone and you're telling me to be calm!?" The blonde's hand grip fidgeted against the grip of his sword.

Kagura let out another sigh, knowing fully well that Jin would continue refusing to listen to reason. "Major, please wait!" Noel sheepishly butted in as she held out a small pink envelop that was wrapped in a stylish stationary. "A-At least read this before you go..."

"What IS this?!" Jin snapped the envelop right out the girl's hands causing her to let out a small squeak.

"It's the letter Tsubaki left us before we realized that she had disappeared." Noel's hand quickly dropped as fast as the Major's head dropped into the letter. Without any hesitation Jin opened it and read the note he found inside, his eyes darted back and forth as he scanned over the lines of writing, before squinting as he reached the end of it. "She's gone after my brother? That idiot!" Jin placed the letter into his coat's pocket before attempting to barge past Kagura, only to find himself being shoved back by him.

The moment Kagura shoved Jin backwards, causing him to stumble a little, Taro quickly snuck beside Jin as he bashed into the blonde as he sent him tumbling into a near by walk in robe that Hibiki had opened the door to. Once the Major stumbled inside he heard Kagura order everyone to shut the door and block it with various pieces of furniture, sealing the blonde off from the world. "Argh! You BASTARDS!" Jin roared as he charged up against the seal door, realizing his arm was more bruised then he thought as he felt a sharp pain course through it. "..Gah..."

He could hear Kagura's muffled voice echo through the door, "Jin, I'm sorry... But, it's for your own good." He then heard his muffled whisper, "Taro, keep an eye on this door and do NOT let him escape."

The blonde then heard everyone's footsteps became faint as he let out a groan. "Damn it." He slide back against the wall of the closest as he realised that he couldn't get out as easily as he thought...

* * *

 **Word Count 3,625 (ignore this, as it's for me keeping records :D )**

 **A/N: I'm sorry if the last part seemed rushed, as I tend to always rush the endings since I'm a idiot who types these too late at night. Especially tonight because I have Tafe/college early in the morning. haha, anyways, feel free to leave a review?**


	3. The Cat and the Mad dog

**Chapter 3: The Cat and the Mad Dog**

 **Word Count: 3,915**

* * *

Tsubaki continued to push forward using her arm to move aside the layers of shrubbery that tried to hold her in place. Unable to shake the daunting feeling that someone may of been watching, she felt her heart pump faster each time she felt a presence growing closer. _'I need to get away from here!'_ She thought, her feet instinctively began to sprint through the forest floor.

Failing to notice that the source of the lingering presence was coming from a few feet behind her as a purple haired girl took a small step forward. The brown leather boot she wore pressed down, crushing a small insect beneath it as it let out a harsh crunch. "So, this is the Yayoi chick you want me to kill?" Azreal inquired as he marched up behind Izanami, towering over the small girl as he continued to watch Tsubaki with his focused ruby eyes.

"Yes," She replied simply, "Kill her... and you shall have Ragna the Bloodedge's soul in thy claws." Without any more exchanged words between the two, Azreal continued on his hunt. Stalking the red head through the surrounding shrubbery. ' _Pfft... pathetic waste, the both of them.'_ She thought to herself as she turned away from Azreal's direction, her feet beginning to carry her for a small stroll among the trees and bushes.

She stopped for a moment though as he eyes laid upon a small blue butterfly that rested on top of a leaf of a shrub. Izanami raised her slender hand to the small insect, lightly brushing her fingers against it's wings, suddenly causing 'blood' to ooze from the wings before it's body fell to the forest floor... lifeless.

 _'Life is too fragile.'_ She looked to the sky as her lips stretched into a eerie smile. _'Brother... it's Almost our time.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, Jin let out a frustrated grunt as he rushed to the door of the wardrobe, slamming his already bruised arm against it's solid wood that continued to send him flying backwards. "JinJin, would you please give it a rest already?" Taro begged as he found himself having to push various pieces of furniture back against the door that kept Jin in place. "You're injured enough as it is!"

"Taro, get out of my damn way. I NEED to get to Tsubaki! My br- Ragna will kill her in the state he's currently in!" Jin argued back as used the shelve's behind him to hoist him back up onto his feet. "Taro, you guys may think you're helping me by making sure I don't get injured any further... But, Tsubaki needs me."

"Jin, I'm sorry man. But, you must understand the position I've been thrown into. Both Tsubaki and Kagura want you safe, I... I have no choice."

Jin walked over to the door in a sluggish manner, and placed his hand against it's cold wooden surface. He realized arguing and using force was getting him no where, maybe if he tried a new approach? "Taro, listen..." Jin began, quickly coming up with a way to persway Taro off the top of his head. "You of all people should understand why I MUST go. Tsubaki... she's important to me."

"I-I know, man. But, I can't just disobey Kagura."

"But Taro, what about her safety? I care about her, I know you and Akane did as well... But, like you I care about Tsubaki just as much as you cared for Mai."

On the other side of the makeshift barrier, Taro's eyes grew wide in response to the mention of the girl's name. "M-Mai? But, that's not related in any sort to this situation!"

"No? Taro, Tsubaki is going after Ragna. We don't know if the Imperator will be with him, or even Relius Clover!" Taro gasped as he casted his head to the ground in response to Jin's words. "You know what that man is like! You told Akane and I how he tried to hurt Mai." Jin's voice deepened as he held a familiar sense of sympathy towards the boy on the other side of the door, regardless of how much Jin thought of the boy as a idiot.

"Remember how I let you go after Mai when you first started working as my subordinate? You were worried about her safety even though we all knew she could take care of herself..." Jin lent his forehead against the door as he continued to 'beg' Taro to let him go. "Please Taro, I did let you go after Mai even when she wanted to go alone."

Jin then stayed silent for a moment as he heard a conflicted sigh escape Taro's lips as the sound of furniture then followed. He pulled and pushed aside the furniture that blocked the door until finally, the door's flew open as they casted a bright light to shine in the wardrobe as it sent Jin slightly blind for a second. Taro then moved to the side of the door's. "Damn it, Jin. Just... please stay safe and bring Tsubaki back. Now go!"

As Jin walked past Taro he quietly spoke the word, "Thanks!" For a moment Taro could of sworn he caught the glimpse of Jin letting a small genuine smile out as he passed the dark haired boy. The blonde then walked over to the window and with little effort, climbed carefully out of it disappearing from Taro's sight. He wondered for a moment if Jin would really be okay. But, he remembered that it was Jin after all. The hero that always survived the story.

Taro then walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it as he began to ponder about the familiar name that Jin had brought up. "Mai." He mumbled as he remembered the younger classmate. Her ocean colored hair, her rose pink eyes that glimmered in a mesmerizing way and her rather... curvy figure that his cousin would point out endlessly. The girl certainly captured Taro's eyes in the past and even though the two shared some heartwarming moments and daring adventures...

She disappeared before his very eyes... He had woken up one day to find out that this mysterious girl who captured his heart had completely vanished. No one knew where she went nor what happened to her.. and it broke him.

Taro sat there for a couple of minutes with his face buried into the palm of his hands, only to be interrupted from his thoughts as he heard Hibiki's voice from in front of him. "Where's Major Kisaragi, Taro?"

Taro laid back onto the plush blankets that covered the bed as he let out a quiet huff, "Sorry." Taro glanced over to Hibiki who looked less then impressed. "Jin know's how to pursway me."

"Taro, will all due respect that wasn't your call to make." Hibiki scolded before letting a sigh escape, "Come along, Kagura wishes to speak with you. You can also explain to him why you decided it was a good idea to let Jin go."

"Yes, Hibiki." Taro hanged his head low as he got up from the bed and dragged his feet as he exited the room, leaving Hibiki behind as he glanced over at the empty wardrobe.

 _'Kagura that idiot. Did he really think it was going to keep the Major in by getting Taro of all people to keep watch?... Not to mention we locked him in a wardrobe of all things.'_ Hibiki clicked his tongue as he felt rather annoyed, knowing that Kagura wouldn't of done anything just like with their missing lord. Hibiki then walked to the window as he watched Jin in the distance run off.

Hibiki then placed his hands on the edge of the window as he hoisted himself up onto it as he stood on the edge, dangling himself above the ground outside as he looked below, realizing how high up he was.. Not that it bothered him. _'In a way, I can't help but agree with the Major... sometimes there's no point on relying on others.'_ And with that, Hibiki threw himself out the window. Pulling two blades out from underneath his blue coat as he jumped as far as he could. Just managing to stab his two blades into a tree near the window as he slowly propelled himself downwards to the ground below.

 _'colonel... Sometimes I find it hard to understand how you are the leader of the Duodecium with the amount of immaturity and lack of motivation you carry for your goals. If you won't go yourself to look for the young lord, or even go after the heads of the Duodecium families, then I'll take it upon myself to correct your sins. I'll bring the young lord home and once I return... I'll finish what I had started... and kill you.'_

* * *

 _"Ragna." A faint, yet familiar voice cooed into his ears. His eyes stayed closed though. "Ragnaa~" The voice called again with a warm breath that tickled his face, causing his eyes to flutter open. His ruby and emerald eyes meeting with her sheepish emerald's._

 _"N-Noel?" Ragna gasped out as he found the young blonde hovering over him as he realized that his head was rested on top of her lap. "Noel, what are you doing here?" Ragna asked, sitting himself up as he stared at her in shock. 'Why is she here of all places?' Noel extended her hand towards him, without hesitation he took her offer and grabbed onto her slender hand as she pulled him to his feet._

 _"I'm here to see you, silly." Noel giggled. Something was off with her voice though, it sounded almost as if someone else was speaking to him._

 _Brushing off the thought though, Ragna replied, "Yeah? But, how could you even get here? Actually... where is here?" Ragna looked around, seeing nothing but whiteness surrounding the both of them. Noel reached her hand up to touch Ragna's cheek with her icy fingers, carefully cradling his cheek into the palm of her hand. His gazed lead him back to her. "N-Noel?"_

 _"Why should it matter where we are?" She asked, a sweet tone that warmed his heart and reminded him of his peaceful days with 'her'. "The only thing that should matter is that we are here... together." Ragna stayed silent for a moment, unable to find the words to reply to her as he began to feel weirded out with the way she spoke about the two of them._

 _Before he could answer her though, she turned to him and asked, "Ragna... Do you like me?" Her eyes narrowed down at him as if she was demanding a answer that would satisfy her._

 _"Wha-? Y-yeah, I guess.." He babbled a response, "After all, you're a good friend, Noel." Ragna then gagged as he found his head slowly being crushed between the girl's hands. "Gh, N-Noel."_

 _"Just a friend?... How dare you!" She snarled. "Aren't I more then just a friend?"_

 _"Ahhh... a best friend?" Ragna replied causing Noel to fall silent as she stared blankly at him, dropping her hands from his cheeks while he gave her a rather confused look._

 _Noel hung her head low, a slight chuckle escaped her lips. "Hehehe, Ragna~ make love to me. Make me into a woman." She caused the silver haired man to gasp as he pushed her away._

 _"S-SAY WHAT?!" Ragna took a few steps back from the girl. "N-No, Noel. You're like a little sister to me!" In the middle of screaming at the young girl she managed to dart forward before latching herself onto Ragna. Her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, while her legs were around his waist._

 _"Aww com'on, Ragna. Do you really want to push me away? You'll be all alone again." Noel let out a eerie giggle._

 _Realizing_ _this Ragna cried out, "You're not Noel! Where is Noel!?" He tried to struggle free from the slender girl's grip on him._

 _"But Ragna, it is me! Why can't you just ACCEPT me?"_

"AH!" Ragna shot up on the cold hard floor of the pitch black void, his body glistened in sweat. "Was... that all a dream?" He mumbled before slamming his right fist into the floor beside him. "DAMN IT!" He roared out loud.

"Hehehe, oh Ragna. You're mind appears to be slowly collapsing in on it's self. Reality is becoming more and more warped the more you resist it." Ragna heard Nu giggle from behind him.

"Shut up, Nu." He lowly murmured, his eyes squinted as the young murakumo walked up to him happily before swinging her arms around his shoulders like Noel did in his nightmare.

"Oh Ragna, you're so cruel. You reject me in every form and shape I swear..." She then gasped him by the chin, pulling his head towards hers as she gazed lovingly into his eyes. "But, don't worry, Ragna. Nu will make sure she's the only girl for you in the end." With that she lightly pecked his cheek, her lips felt like rubber. A sensation Ragna didn't want to get used to.

Ragna glared as he growled to her, "Nu, you bitch..."

"Hehehe, aw Ragna~ Still wanna play hard to get?" Nu teased as she playfully flicked at the hair that hanged close to his eyes. "Hehehehe~" She giggled as she took in the site of Ragna's irritated expression. "Ragna~" She called in Noel's familiar innocent voice causing the silver haired man to jolt in response. He now wore a savage glare as he growled at her.

"Shut up with that voice already!" He stood up, shoving the young girl from his lap as he walked away from where she sat herself up.

"Oh Ragna, soon you'll have no choice..." She stayed silent, eyeing his figure off as it grew distant in the void. "You'll either merge with me... or you can choose death!" She let out a cackle, throwing her head back followed by the rest of her body as she fell to the cold hard surface as she continued to laugh with ecstasy.

* * *

Tsubaki struggled forward, breathing heavily as she found her gut twist and turn from the anxiety she felt. Despite all the running she couldn't shake the dread that she felt as she swore she was still being watched closely. Regardless looking back over her shoulder every few minutes she never caught the site of anything but, the trees, shrubbery and the dirt below. She didn't want to stop running but, her lungs felt as if they were on fire and she began to feel weak in her knees.

Despite her gut telling her not to, she gave in to her tired self as she slumped against the trunk of a tree as she gently rested. She let out a slight pant as she tired to catch her breath back, but began to choke on her breath as she heard a deep gruff voice coming from where she had just came from. "You there, you're Tsubaki, right?" She saw a large masculine man appear out of the thick brush causing her stomach to churn as she realized who the source of her dread was.

"You're Azreal, the mad dog of sector seven!" She gasped, stumbling backwards and away from the brute.

"Where do you think you're going?" He stalked forward as Tsubaki began to run once more with a burst of adrenaline pushing her forward and faster. She began to hear leaves crunching behind accompanied by the feeling of Azreal's heavy feet pounding after her.

Her heart sank as she heard Azreal let out a mocking chuckle as he continued chasing her. As they continued the chase Tsubaki began to chock from exhaustion as her mouth filled with the disgusting taste of metallic which was distracting her, causing her to trip over from the amount of coughing and wheezing she was doing. Once her body made a impact to the ground she let out a yelp as her arms and legs were grazed by some scattered twigs, but this was the least of her problems at the moment.

Just as she was about to hoist herself up to her feet she found her leg being latched onto aggressively before she began being dragged across the forest floor. Tsubaki let out a heart wrenching wail as she struggled against the vice like grip on her ankle. She kicked, trying to escape from Azreal's grip since attempting to cling to passing trees and rocks did the redhead no good.

Feeling like she had little to no time at all she grabbed out the ruby dagger of Izayoi and swiped at the hand that was tightly clutched around her ankle. It didn't faze him. Instead it made him let out a laugh as he used his other hand to grab at Tsubaki's wrist that held the dagger, he then raised her into the air, dangling her feet above the forest floor before being slammed into a tree as if she were his rag doll. "GUHHH!" Tsubaki gagged and squeaked as Azreal then tossed her back on the forest floor and around, acting as if this were some kind of sick game.

Tsubaki pushed herself into a sitting position as Azreal loomed dangerously over the young solider. "As much as this has been fun, it's time to end this little game of ours!" Tsubaki watched in horror as Azreal lifted his foot above her head ready to crush her like a twig. She clenched her eyes and let out a screech as she awaited the final impact.

It never came...

Curiously she opened a eye then snapped both of them wide open in a alarm as she found a cat in a yellow cloak standing between her and Azreal. His back was turned to the mad dog so he was facing Tsubaki with a soft smile, a single paw he used to hold Azreal's foot back. She gasped as she recognized the familiar cat from one of her old picture books from her childhood. "Jubei?" She cautiously called out, "Jubei of the six heroes?"

"You alright, lil' lady?" He asked as he pushed Azreal right back with his paw before turning his back to Tsubaki, slowly pushing Azreal back a few inches as he did.

 _'He can't be real? Can he?'_ Tsubaki wondered to herself while scanning the yellow cloaked cat. However, she figured just siting there and watching would do both her and the cat no good, so as best as she could she began to drag herself along the forest floor since each time she attempted to stand her left ankle would begin to ache. She managed to position herself behind one of the nearby tree's, taking cover while she watched the events between Jubei and Azreal unfold.

"Ah, so you're Jubei of the six heroes, huh? Well then.. this fight surely must be entertaining!" Azreal pulled a twisted grin as his red eyes narrowed in on the cat who didn't even flinch despite the terrifying man in front of him.

Azreal pulled his arm back before thrusting his arm up towards Jubei to deliver a uppercut, which was blocked easily by Jubei's paw. Despite the over powering strength Jubei possessed due to some previous battles he have had been in recently had caused his strength diminish rapidly from exhaustion. Regardless, this only being the start of his fight with the mad dog.

Jubei pushed Azreal back before darting towards him while bringing his sword to his mouth before swinging it directly to Azreal's neck, leaving a thin gash against the leathery skin that rested there. Azreal chuckled acting as if Jubei had just tickled him with his fluffy paws. Jubei then swung his sword back and forth each then being blocked by Azreal's rock hard fist before the beast finally retaliated by stepping forwards he threw his head down to Jubei, impacting his tough skull into Jubei's furry face causing the beastkin to let out a yelp.

The brute then viciously latched his hand tightly around the scruff of Jubei before tossing the cat into the ground, not letting go before swinging the cat into some tree's. "GAH!" Jubei bellowed out followed by a hiss that escaped his lips. Once freed from Azreal's grasp the feline brought his two blades out of their single sheath and then darted towards Azreal, right to left to avoid giving Azreal easy shot at him. Once close enough, Jubei then swung both of his swords left to right in perfect unison as each one placed a perfect deep wound on either side of the mad dog's tattooed chest.

Azreal responded to this by kicking Jubei in return, each plated covered foot clashed into the razor sharp blades which caused a ear piercing screech of metal colliding. Their position held as the intense feeling brewed within the air around the dog and the cat. _'Ah shit, I guess these wounds re' lil' more serious then I thought. But, I can't back down. The lady needs my aid.'_ Jubei didn't take his eyes off Azreal's as the beastkin continued to shove Azreal back before running forward, rapidly swinging his swords back and forth, each blow being blocked by Azreal's fist. As Jubei continued with his attack, the mad dog waited for an single opening.

Once he saw it, Azreal twisted his body around followed by his raised leg, delivering a heavy blow into Jubei, the metal plating on his shoes caused a jarring crack to be heard as his foot made contact. Jubei roared as his body was sent flying, landing on the ground in a rough impact causing him to groan in agony. "Damn wounds!" He grunted as he struggled to pick himself up off the ground, holding his bruised chest with the one paw while the other used a tree to hoist himself up.

Whilst leaning against the tree he brought his sword up in a shaky manner and pointed his blade at the beast who scoffed, "Your persistent. I can appreciate that in a fighter though." Azreal charged forward with his two fist clenched together, forming a mound as he slammed them into Jubei's chest regardless of the swords cutting at his arms as he did. This sent the cat soaring into the tree that had Tsubaki tucked away behind it. She let out a horrid gasp as she watched the poor cat hit the tree before his body slumped over. "Jubei sir, are you alright?" She hobbled out from behind the tree and helped him up to his hind legs.

 _'Looks like I'm gonna have to continue this fight later.'_ Jubei thought as he placed his swords back into their shared hilt. He then took Tsubaki within his paws, ignoring her confused wail as he then hurled her body over his shoulder. "Sorry lil' lady." He mumbled before darting off, doing his best to get the red head as far away from Azreal as he could possibly get her.

Deeper into the forest the thick layer of the tree's began to cover their tracks, acting as curtains for Azreal's fixated eyes. He stood there in silence, his eyes lost within the darker depths of the forest where his prey went. "I guess I was too busy playing there that I forgot to consume her flesh..." Azreal looked to the sky as a eerie grin crept across his lips and he bellowed out a chuckle, "Awww well, I guess this just adds to the fun of the hunt!"

* * *

 **A/N: And finally got this chapter done, even though I started it back in April _ Sorry for late updates, but I recently finished a pharmacy course and now I'm starting a business course so I'm gonna be busy for a while. But, I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews and support you've shown me through this fanfiction and other works of mine, including my art page on FB. Your support means a lot and you guys are awesome to talk to! :D **

**Since the 27th is coming up I'll hopefully be updating and uploading some new fanfics since I'll be celebrating three years on Fanfiction. So look out for more updates and see you all next time.**


	4. Reunited Once More

**Chapter 4: Reunited Once More**

* * *

"You saved my life." Tsubaki gleefully smiled up at her savior as he continued to run further into the thick of the forest. Tsubaki still was unable to believe that she was just saved by one of her idols, one of the six heroes! It felt like god had blessed her this opportunity to meet him and Tsubaki's excitement bubbled to her surface. "Thank you~"

"Yer welcome, Tsubaki." Jubei replied as he set the red head down on the ground, believing this would be far enough away from Azreal to be safe for the both of them.

Tsubaki gasped however, shocked that Jubei of all beings knew HER name! "H-How did you know my name?!" She spluttered, obviously unable to cover up her growing excitement.

"Jin talked 'bout ya when we travelled to Ikaruga."

Tsubaki's cheeks began to heat up uncontrollably for the bare mention of this small fact. "J-Jin talks about me?" She mumbled as her heart began to pound as her stomach filled with butterflies. _'Jin... actually, talks about... m-me?'_ Tsubaki debated in her mind whether to ask what exactly he would say about her. Not wanting to invade his privacy she argued to stay quiet, but her mouth moved as if on its own and she spluttered out, "W-What did he say about me?" She asked sheepishly, unable to hide her infatuation towards the blonde man.

Jubei chuckled from this, knowing fully well that Jin had to be a idiot not to see the feelings she harbors for him. "He's said plenty of things yet, not much at all at the same time. You know him, he likes to keep to himself." Jubei felt slightly bad as he saw the disappointment slowly creep along on the red head's face. "Hey, com'on kid. There's no need to get yer'self down. He cares deeply for ya. After all, he was more focused on training with me so that he could save you." Jubei reassured her with his firm words as he placed a paw onto her shoulder in a comforting manner.

However, the word 'training' immediately caught her attention as she perked her head up and muttered in a shocked tone, "T-Train?"

Jubei held back a chuckle as he saw the girl get excited again, he replied, "Yeah, I offered to train Jin on our way to Ikaruga. He mentioned you being his goal and that he wouldn't fail."

Tsubaki covered her mouth with her hands as she held back tears of joy. _'..Jin..'_ She smiled as she made her heart flutter once more. "I see..." However, more excitement filled her mind as she remembered what Jubei just said. "So, you're telling me that Jin actually got to be trained... BY YOU!?" Tsubaki shrieked with a giggle as she felt so many mixed, yet good emotions. "Oh my god! He's so lucky! To be trained by one of the six heroes! Ah, haha, oh my god, he's so lucky." She giggled in delight causing the cat to chuckle in response.

Jubei lent against a tree as he watched the girl for a moment before replying, "Well, if you'd like I could help train ya up a bit."

The moment the cat made that offer, despite her sore ankle found Tsubaki throwing herself into Jubei's chest as she completely pushed him over. She squealed in delight as she got off him, extending a shaky hand towards him as she spluttered, "I-It would be a honor, s-sir! I-I've always admired you, s-so it would be my g-greatest pleasure to- to be trained by you!" Her face went as red as a cherry as she admitted all of that. "T-T-Thank you, s-sir!"

The old cat chuckled from the girl's excitement as he shook her hand, causing the girl to tremble even more. "Hey, calm down miss." He teased, "First things first, we need to keep moving."

* * *

Jin pushed himself passed through massive crowed of people who darted around the busy markets like ants. His eyes briefly scanned over everyone's faces who passed him, making sure not to pass Tsubaki if she just happened to be there. As he continued to push past a multitude of people he finally came to a stop as he found himself face to face with Hibiki who stood a couple of feet in front of him, wearing a rather unusual outfit compared to his usual military uniform. Jin squinted at the captain who was clearly reaching for his blades, he let out a growl of a demand, "Hibiki... move."

"You know I can't do that, Major Kisaragi." Hibiki replied in an emotionless tone as Jin noticed that his hands were fidgeting with the handles of his swords. Jin took note of this, realizing that Hibiki wasn't going to budge and that he should prepare to slice the captain down if needed.

"You seriously think that you're going to stop me from going after her?" Jin questioned as his eyes stared sharply at the blade's being slowly withdrawn from their respected hilts of Hibiki's. Jin had to admit that he was impressed that for once the captain decided to stand up to someone like him, regardless though it was rather bothersome to Jin that the captain was getting in his way.

Hibiki didn't reply verbally as he rushed forward, darting to the left to right as he closed in to deliver a strike on the blonde who however, easily blocked the attack. A frosty mist immitted from the blade to slowly freeze over Hibiki's, coating the black blade thick ice chunks of ice. The crowd around the two men soon scattered to the other ends of the streets, completely deserting them as their shrieks became distant.

Hibiki then jumped back before swinging his blade forward again in a diagonal inward slash upwards with Jin responded to this movement by swinging his blade in a random pattern, counter attacking the skilled boy. Jin then shoved Hibiki back before throwing his fist forward as ice formed on his knuckle, creating a large wolf like head that attempted to consume Hibiki within its razor-like teeth.

Hibiki with his skillful moves managed to slip out from the wolf's grasp before he darted around behind Jin to deliver a few strikes, Jin deflected each one with his sheathed sword before kicking the captain backwards. Hibiki then ran up to a stack of creates as he jumped up onto them, giving himself leverage before propelling himself off from it as he soared in Jin's direction. In mid-air Hibiki twisted his body in a circular motion with his blades following suite, his body and swords acted like a sort of blender as he sliced Jin's in multiple places along his arms.

The blonde grunted from the sharp pain that came to his arms, only to dismiss it as he charged to where Hibiki had landed, bringing his blade up in front of him as it collided with Hibiki's raised blades. The two held their ground as they exchanged an eerie glare to one another. An unusual gleam held in Hibiki's grey eyes, a look that Jin only saw in soldiers on the battlefield of Kagura.

Hibiki took the moment as an opportunity as he dropped his body to the floor, delivering a swift kick that knocked the blonde to the floor below. He then reached over and stabbed at Jin, barely missing the blonde by inches as the Major would turn and roll over. As Hibiki went in for another stab he ended up with his blade getting caught in the ground, allowing Jin some time as the blonde pulled back his arm and hit Hibiki straight in the face, making the young boy clutch his nose with a sharp pain in it.

Jin then rolled away from the captain before darting up to his feet, he quickly drew his blade back out as he pointed the tip at Hibiki's neck. "Enough, Hibiki. You know for a fact that I will not back down!"

Hibiki let out a sigh before announcing, "Very well, I withdraw." He backed off from the blonde as Jin did the same, both men then placing their blades away. Hibiki then returned to his usual composure, one that didn't seem murderous like his eyes displayed a minute ago. He then spoke in a gentle tone, "Well it seems like there's no chance of me per swaying your thought, Major."

Jin grunted in response, "It was a pointless goal from the beginning. Where on earth did you get the brilliant idea that you could possibly defeat me?"

Hibiki chuckled under his breath slightly from Jin's ignorance, "Major, you're not invincible. After all, look at what Ragna the Bloodegde did to your body recently. You may of came out of the battle lucky, but luck doesn't last forever."

"Luck has nothing to do with this." Jin scoffed, "Now, if we're finished here I'd like to get going. I suggest you go back to base like a good lap dog." Jin began to walk away from the captain, only to hear the sound of footsteps following close behind.

Hibiki's voice then came from behind him as he replied, "I apologize, Major. I may have agreed to let you be. However, I've decided to accompany you on your journey." Hibiki gave the blonde a bright smile as Jin let out an irritable huff.

"Seriously? *Sigh* Fine but, stay the hell out of my way! You so much as step a foot in between my goal, and I won't hesitate to cut you down." Jin sternly warned the captain who silently nodded in response, letting a sigh of defeat escape his lips Jin then proceeded forward as he allowed the young captain to follow closely behind him.

* * *

"I hope you know that you are wasting my time, Dog." Saya grumbled as she rubbed the side of her temples with her slender finger tips while watching the Mad Dog slowly making his way through the thick of the brush, the sound of his feet stomping scared away any little critters that dare to scamper anywhere near his path. As Saya continued to watch Azreal's sluggish hunt she turned and glanced over to where the beast of Ragna slumbered, thinking to herself, _'Hmm, even if I can vanquish all those who stand in thy way, I need will need to ensure my future.'_

She slowly strolled to over to Ragna's large snout then leaning down in front of it as she stretched her hand outwards to it, lightly patting him as she whispered, "I'll be back my love. Please, continue your dreams." She then leant down into the curve of his snout, wrapping her arms around the scales as she pulled her body into his for a tight hug. "I love you, brother." She then stood up from him as her hands began to glow a slight gold as she created a portal in front of her. She then stepped through it, leading her to a flooded ruin within Ibukido.

There in the distance she spotted a girl with short silver hair, marching through the gentle flowing water, grumbling to herself, "Damn it, at this rate I'll never find those bastards from Sector Seven." She stumbled from the height of the water against her thighs, making it near to impossible for her to make ground.

"How the hell did I end up here anyways?" She entered through a door less building, making her way over to a flight of crumbling stairs as she pulled herself out of the cold water. Once she reached the top of the stairs she was met with a completely open roof, giving her the advantage to see where she exactly was. "Okay?" She stepped to the edge of the floor, using an arm to shield her eyes from the bright sun that over hanged her as she looked out into the distance. All her gaze was met with was nothing but water that flooded over the terrain of this abandoned city.

"Son of a bitch." She snarled under her breath before turning back around to descend back down the stairs. As she trudged back through the water and out the front door, giving a sigh of defeat. "Well, too late in the day now. Might as well find somewhere to make camp for the night." As she stumbled through the water, her eyes examining each building she passed, looking for a decent one to spend her night in. Unfortunately, it took her a while due to their decaying features, to find a building with a second floor that was enclosed with walls and a decent roof.

Once she finally found the perfect place to stay the night she found herself in the top floor, she looked around to see all the walls and ceiling to be damp. She sighed deeply, it wasn't the best location to set up her camp, but she was literally left with no choice.

She looked around for anything that could use to make a fire with, noticing a few old tattered chairs and table in the dark corner of the room she walked over to them and grabbed a chair. As she turned around back to the center of the room she began to pull at the legs of the chair, ripping them off at a time before placing them in the center. Once she made a small pile of wood in the center of the room she brought out her knife and a small rock she always had carried with her. It took a little while, but eventually she was able to create a small spark that she used to lite the wood on fire.

The girl then sat beside the fire, allowing the embers to keep her warm. She then let out a grumble however, "Damn it, I didn't hunt for any food… Well this is a shitty night." She then looked up from the fire as she heard some footsteps coming from the dark corner of the room. She shot up from where she sat and readied her gauntlets. "WHO'S THERE!?" She yelled out as she spotted the silhouette of a figure standing in the corner.

"Heed child, there is no need for violence for I shall be here to guide you."

"Guide me?"

"Your name is Bullet, is it not? You are searching for answers about your fallen squad, is that not correct?"

Bullet squinted her ember eyes at the figure. "H-How do you know me?"

"I know all. Bullet join me. If you help me I shall lead you to the truth of your squadron."

Bullet stayed silent, eyes locked on the figure before she called out in a demanding tone, "Come into the light." The figure stepped forward, the glow from the fire revealing the face of a short woman with long purple hair who wore a traditional kimono for royalty. The women gave Bullet the sicken feeling of anxiety as she looked at her, a slender hand extended towards her from the woman.

"Join me and you'll see them all again, that I promise you."

"How do I know if I can trust you or not?"

"Are you really willing to skip out on the one chance you've been offered to find your squad?" The woman let out an eerie grin escape her lips that sent chills down the lone mercenary's back.

Bullet hesitated, but shakenly stuck her hand out to latch onto Saya's, shaking her grip firmly in agreement. "F-Fine. Deal."

"You made the right choice, young one." With that, Saya's hands began to glow gold once more as she created a portal in front them both. She then walked forward, stopping in front of the portal to look back at Bullet. "Do not fear it."

' _I don't trust this woman at all…'_ Bullet thought to herself before accepting Saya's invitation into the portal, slowly walking through to find herself on the other side in what looked like a small cave. "What? W-Where are we?" Bullet however, was met with silence as a response as she found herself being shoved inside a room that looked like a jail cell. "AH! H-Hey!" Bullet ran up to the door and tried to pull it open, only for it not to budge an inch.

Bullet punched the door in anger before walking to the furthest wall of the room, leaning against it as she then slid down it to the floor. "Oh god, why did I come with her?" Bullet sat there mumbling to herself, trying not to let herself panic from the fear she felt. "Damn it.." The girl brought her knees to her chin before burying her head into them, acting like a child hiding from a monster.

* * *

"Come on, kid. Try to keep up the pace a little more, eh? Don't want that dog to catch up with us." Jubei chuckled as he continued to limp in front of Tsubaki who was caught up in her own worry about Jubei's injuries.

"S-Sorry, sir!" She replied in a shaken voice. _'His limp has gotten worse since we first began running. How much longer can he possibly go on?'_ Tsubaki wondered to herself as she felt a trickle of sweat roll down her forehead. She found herself then looking back to make sure that they weren't being followed and to her horror among the tree's she spotted the face of Azreal's, poking out from behind a tree with a murderous grin across his lips.

Tsubaki gasped, turning back around to face forward as she picked up her pace to match Jubei's. "Sir Jubei?" She now walked beside him as she lent down a little to whisper, "H-He's still following us. Azreal is literally behind us in the trees just… just s-staring." She choked on her words slightly as she let her fear set in.

Jubei spoke back in a gentle tone, "It's alright, he's just toying with us for now. Keep yer head forward and keep your pace on track." Jubei sternly told her which she complied to without any sort of debate, despite knowing that Azreal's gaze was still fixated on them both caused her skin to crawl. She just wanted him to give up and leave them alone. What on earth could he possibly want with either of them still baffled Tsubaki's mind. Noticing that Tsubaki began dortling behind Jubei quietly called out to her, "Come on kid, keep up." Tsubaki nodded silently as she lightly sprinted up to where Jubei limped, her heart began thumping harshly inside her chest as she felt her legs begin to shake. Walking silently like this was torturous and all Tsubaki wanted to do was hide away… away from those blood stained eyes.

' _I-I wish Jin was here.'_ At that moment a grunt came from in front of the red head as she watched the cat in front fall to his knees. "Sir Jubei?!" Tsubaki gasped out as she lunged forward, despite her own injured ankle as she caught the cat in her arms.

"Sorry lass, guess my injuries are a lot worse than I thought." Jubei faintly chuckled, trying to lighten his tone of dread which she could easily hear through his façade.

Before Tsubaki could say anything both her and Jubei heard a deep cackle coming from behind them in the tree's, causing the red head to jolt with an audible gasp. She then without a more to spare hoisted one of Jubei's paws over her shoulders as she assistance the cat to walk. "Jeez, watching you both struggling like this is really tiring me out." Azreal yawned mockingly as he emerged from the bushes, slowly strolling up to the both of them, to Tsubaki's dismay.

"B-Back off!" Tsubaki growled as she positioned herself in front of Jubei and with her free hand raised her ruby dagger up at Azreal.

Azreal scoffed as he noticed how shaky Tsubaki's hand was. "You're kidding me, right? I expected you to be more… of a challenge." He then charged forward as he roared, "Fight me and prove your WORTH!" Tsubaki shoved Jubei to the side as she brought her shield up in front of her in time for Azreal's fist to collided into it, the sheer force of his fist sent Tsubaki stumbling backwards. "No point in running from me. It's time to face me!"

Tsubaki quickly glanced at her ankle which still ached a great deal and then her gaze turned to Jubei who was still gravely injured, however a single nod came from the cat as he stood himself up and readied his swords. Seeing this got Azreal's blood boiling with excitement, he cracked his knuckles with enthusiasm. "Ah, that's more like it! I prefer the fighting more than the chase."

With that both Tsubaki and Jubei charged forward to Azreal, both colliding their swords into either side of Azreal's fist as he easily blocked the attacks. First, he turned his attention to Jubei who was more of a threat; he threw a swift punch at the cat before quickly turning to Tsubaki which he used his powerful kick on, knocking her off her feet as she fell to her butt with a squeak.

He flipped his attention back onto Jubei who had his swords away and instead now had his razor-sharp claws out, swinging them back and forth as he sliced Azreal's arms apart. Before Azreal could retaliate; while on the ground Tsubaki returned the favor of a swift kick, knocking him over with Jubei following as he continuously swiped at Azreal. Without hesitation Tsubaki morphed her dagger into a giant mallet, quickly warning Jubei to move as she swung it downwards allowing its sharp edges to pierce Azreal with an agonizing force. "GRAH!" Azreal grunted, giving a left hook into the young woman's body, sending her flying into a nearby tree trunk.

Jubei darted over to where Tsubaki sat on the ground, coughing as she felt a piercing pain in her gut. "Are you okay, Tsubaki?" Jubei asked while leaving his eyes on Azreal as he watched the brute slowly get up to his feet.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you." She replied as she slowly got herself up. "W-What is he doin-" Tsubaki wondered out loud as she watched Azreal walked over to a tree before bending down, his hands sank into the soil below his feet as suddenly the tree next to him began to shift violently. A minute later he pulled the tree out of the ground as he slowly turned back to their direction, he then threw it in their direction.

"RUN KID!" Jubei yelled at the young solider as the two of them darted among the trees, a large crash being heard mere meters from behind them caused the earth to shake. Which was followed by a high-pitched squeal from Tsubaki.

* * *

Meanwhile in the outer parts of the city Jin and Hibiki felt the ground shake. "What the-" Jin gasped as he looked around.

"What on earth was that?" Hibiki wondered out loud as he too looked around frantically. The two then heard the high-pitched squeal that followed. "Was that-"

"I-It couldn't be… Tsubaki?" Jin mumbled as he looked in the direction of the city where it met up with the forest that surrounded it. "Maybe… Hibiki, come on. Don't loiter behind!" Jin growled as he sprinted off in the direction of the squeal with Hibiki closely following behind. _'Tsubaki, if any chance that was you. Please… hold on for me.'_

* * *

"TSUBAKI!" Jubei ran over to where Tsubaki laid, struggling to move as her ankle was wedged underneath the thrown log. Despite what little strength Jubei could muster he leant down and placed his paws around the thick log before lifting it up for Tsubaki to drag herself out of the log; somehow lucky enough to come out with just some mere scratches on her legs and still that aching ankle of hers.

"Why won't you die?" Azreal screamed as he threw a kick towards them, barely missing Tsubaki as his foot slammed into a tree with the bark painfully piercing into his leg as he then tried to rip it out of there.

Tsubaki gasped as she threw herself out of Azreal's attack, once on the ground again Jubei offered a paw to help her get up. Once she stood up the two made their way from the Mad Dog which only angered the hound more. "GET BACK HERE!" He successfully ripped his foot out of the tree as he once more prepared to charge the two. His speed was relentless and the wounds of both Jubei and Tsubaki began to really show their effects as the two slowed.

"OH GOD!" Tsubaki screeched as Azreal gained on her, Jubei instinctively bolted in front of her to shield her away from Azreal's attack. In that moment they must've had a stroke of luck as a wall of ice erupted in-between them and Azreal, and in front of them was the back of a familiar blonde.

Tsubaki's eyes widen immensely as she stared in awe, her heart pounded with excitement as she called out to him, "J-Jin?" Her face lightened up as the figure slowly turned around, his warm smile greeted her with comfort.

"Hey, Tsubaki.." Jin's gentle voice replied which caused her face to flush red from the not so familiar genuine attitude.

* * *

 **Word count: 4,232**

 **A/N:** **Hey everyone, I hope I at least improved between this chapter and the last. Confession I need to make, for the past year I had the smart idea that I could multitask while writing but, half way through writing this chapter I decided to fully focus on it without music or videos in the back ground so yeah… XD One paragraph every week with little to no sentence structures has now turned into 2,000 words per night with at least I hope better structures. XD I done goofed. XD Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to leave me a review I very much appreciate it and I'll see you guys in whatever I update next.**

 **P.S Sorry if my work comes out slow regardless though, I am studying business now and… well yeah, it's a work load.**


	5. For the kiss?

**Chapter 5: For the kiss?**

 **Word Count: 5,622**

* * *

"Jin!" Tsubaki rose up from the ground as she limped towards the blonde, then throwing her arms over his shoulders as she held him within her tight embrace, one he gladly returned.

"Are you alright, Tsubaki?" Jin asked as he lent his forehead against hers, as she did his.

Giving Jin a small yet loving smile Tsubaki replied softly, "Yes, I am now."

"Ah Major?" Their reunion was short lived as Hibiki ran over to where the two stood. "I apologize for interrupting but, we might want to be on our way right about now." Hibiki looked through the clear ice to see Azreal's eyes peering through as if they were knives from how dead set on them he was.

"Alright then." Jin turned to Jubei who sat on the ground wearing a smile on his face. "Can you move?" Jin asked in a rather cold manner, not caring to say his greetings to the cat.

This made the cat chuckle from the familiar attitude before replying, "Nice to see ya' too, Jin. As for my injuries, well they're finally starting to take their toll on me."

Jin turned to Tsubaki as he noticed the limp she had in her step, he then turned to Hibiki and said, "Alright then, Hibiki. You grab the cat and I'll help Tsubaki." Jin then scooped Tsubaki up into his arms, earning him a slight gasp from the now flustered Tsubaki. Hibiki went to Jubei's side as he placed his paw over his shoulders. "You got him?" Jin asked the captain.

"Yes, now where are we heading? Back to the city?" Hibiki asked only for Azreal to answer for them as he smashed through the way of ice, blocking their route towards the city.

'Damn it, I could easily remove this fool, but..' Jin's eyes glanced down to the woman that he held. 'I can't risk putting them in harms way.' Jin began to sprint towards Hibiki and Jubei who were behind the two, passing them he replied, "Alright, you two follow me!"

The four ran through the forest for some time until they found a trail among the tree's, they ran down the path leading away from the city for a while before passing a lake. "Jin, up there!" Tsubaki stretched her hand out as she pointed towards a nearby watch tower. By now they were sure that they had finally lost Azreal so finding refuge in the tower seemed like a good idea, especially since the sun was now beginning to set.

Eventually they made it to the base of the ladder that lead upwards into the tower. Tsubaki was the first of the group to ascend, followed by Jubei and then Hibiki. Jin waited a moment at the bottom as he scanned his surroundings, making sure that he couldn't sense Azreal anymore.

After waiting patiently Jin finally choose to ascend the ladder. Once at the top, Jin was greeted by Tsubaki's arms once more. Jin held her back while asking out loud, "Is everyone alright?" They all responded back with a simple nod or yes before Jubei turned around and replied.

"Good to see ya' again, Jin." The cat smiled at the blonde who bluntly replied with..

"How badly are you injured?" He confronted the cat as he noticed the wounds that were spread across the feline's fur. Some cuts looking minor while a few looked deep to the point where he spotted died blood that was clumped in the cat's fur. Jin was honestly surprised that the cat could even walk with assistance, he should have been unconscious.

"O' these wounds have merely just slow me down a bit. I'll be fine in a couple of days." Jubei chuckled as Hibiki rummaged through some storage containers in the room, luckily finding a small first aid kit among other items such as canned foods, old tattered newspapers and even a small map that over looked the forest that surrounded them.

"Major, you may want to take a look at this." Hibiki got up and walked over to Jin and handed him the map before going over to Jubei to attend his wounds with what little he found in the first aid kit.

"Hmmm, good find, Hibiki." Hibiki was surprised from the compliment from the Major but shrugged it off as he went back to attend Jubei's wounds.

Jin and Tsubaki took a close look at the map as they both held on opposite sides of the fabric. "Hmmm, so we're here." Jin mumbled under his breath while looking at the symbols and markings on the map.

Tsubaki then reached over to the map and pointed at a trail on the map saying, "That's the path we were on before Azreal cut us off." Jin stood there silently as he looked to Tsubaki wondering if she knew how close her face was to his, that he could feel warmth radiating from her cheeks. Noticing Jin grew silent she asked, "Are you alr-" She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed then how close her face was to his, their lips almost meeting which caused the girl's cheeks to flare up as she found herself backing away, hiding the look of embarrassment that was plastered on her face. "S-Sorry." She stuttered.

Jin turned his head back to the map as she replied, "It's fine." He responded in a blunt tone, practically brushing off the small contact they accidently made.

Noticing the awkward tension that grew between the two, Jubei decided to call out for the blonde, "Hey Jin, could ya' pass the map over here for a second?" Jin walked over to the two and handed the cat the map while Tsubaki, still feeling embarrassed headed outside onto the deck that surrounded the single room. When Jubei noticed the redhead had left the room, before Jin could react the cat lunge forward as he swiped at the collar of Jin's shirt, latching on before he pulled the blonde towards him swatting him on the head in the process.

"Ow! What the-?!"

"Jin, you seriously can't use that tone with yer' lil lady friend." Jubei growled lowly to the blonde.

Hibiki added on from the side while wrapping some of Jubei's wounds in the bandages. "Yes Jin, your approach towards a woman is rather tasteless."

"To hell with the both of you!" Jin growled lowly, "My brother has turned into a monster and we are currently being chased by the mad dog and yet, you both think that this is a good time for me to court Tsubaki?" Jubei began to chuckle as Hibiki joined in, oblivious as to what they found funny this had made the blonde feel uncomfortable. "What's so funny?"

Jubei let a smirk form across his lips as he replied, "We weren't trying to convince you to make moves on, Tsubaki. We were just telling ya to be a bit politer towards your friend." The moment Jubei said this Jin's expression was a rather unique one for him as he looked like a stunned mullet with his cheeks slightly tinted.

He backed away from the both of them as he replied with a deep grouchy tone, "I'm going to stand watch outside." He stormed out of the room, leaving Hibiki to resume dressing Jubei's wounds.

Once outside Jin was greeted with the icy refreshing air and the sight of his childhood friend sitting on the edge of the platform with her limbs collided through the safety rail as she dangled them off the side. Jin stared at her before making the decision to sit down beside her. "Oh, hello Jin!" She greeted him cheerfully, obviously still flustered from their small interaction from before since her cheeks still glowed a blossom shade.

"Hey Tsubaki." They stayed silent for a little while as they soaked in the cold thin air and the beautiful view of the lake. It was peaceful, despite the beast that could of possibly be lurking below but at that moment it didn't matter to either of them. They felt soothed by each other's presence, even though neither of them would admit it.

Jin finally broke the silence as he turned his head to his left where Tsubaki sat silently. "Why did you leave?"

Tsubaki visibly stiffen at the mere question, dreading it because what was such a little topic could easily snowball into the two of them starting another one of their many arguments. "W-What do you mean?" She tried to avoid the idea of talking about what Jin wanted to address.

"Please don't avoid the subject, Tsubaki. What were you thinking, going after Ragna alone? You're not like myself or even Kagura." He asked softly in hopes to coax Tsubaki into feeling comfortable with talking to him about it. "What made you think that you could stand a chance?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm neither of you. I had to do something, you were injured and Ragna could be out there right now possibly killing people." She then tilted her head down and muttered lowly so that Jin couldn't hear, "I had to do something in order to protect everyone."

Jin reached over to her and placed a hand onto her shoulder to comfort her. "Tsubaki, did you even consider for a moment that even if you had found Ragna you wouldn't have been able to do anything."

Tsubaki squinted her eyes slightly as she lowly growled, "That is what the Izayoi is for."

"That's no excuse. You're a fool to even say that about that cursed Arm Armagus."

Tsubaki looked down, there was the usual cold persona of his back. "Look, I'm sorry you had to protect me from Azreal. But, I don't understand why your so mad at me right now." Tsubaki then shouted to the blonde, "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

Jin gritted his teeth as he backed off from the red head, standing himself up he grumbled, "You… truly are stubborn." With that the blonde circled to the other side of the room, sitting down on the opposite side of the surrounding deck. In a kind of childish manner. Tsubaki turned her head back to the view of the lack as she let out an aggravated sigh, then getting up as she headed into the room, slamming the door behind her as she entered. This caught both Jubei and Hibiki's attention.

"What's wrong, Miss Tsubaki?" Hibiki looked up from where he was rummaging through a box as the red head stormed by, throwing herself onto the unoccupied bed in the corner of the room.

"Nothing." She whined as she nuzzled her face into the plush pillow.

Both Hibiki and Jubei sighed in unison before the cat hoisted himself from where he sat in a chair, speaking out loud, "I'll be right back." Jubei grunted slight as he hobbled towards the door and let himself outside while Hibiki walked over to where Tsubaki laid and sat down beside her.

"Are you alright, Miss Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki raised her head slightly from the pillow, allowing herself to speak clearly as she replied, "I-I'm fine, thank you. I just… sometimes wonder why Jin must be so harsh? I know he's trying to get his point across but, he never explains why he's being so… pushy."

'Well that is the Major for you." Hibiki let a sigh out as did Tsubaki. "So, what were the both of you talking about?" He enquired.

Tsubaki pouted slightly, hesitating to respond to his question. She looked to Hibiki and slowly murmured, "He asked me why I thought going after Ragna alone was a smart idea."

"Ah," Hibiki nodded in response before replying, "So may you tell me what about that he said exactly that has upset you?"

Tsubaki pouted once more as a sigh escape her lips. "Honestly, it's the way he speaks to me in general. He sounds caring for a moment, but then he calls me an idiot, or a fool a moment later and it's just… a little frustrating." She then grumbled to herself, "If calling me a fool is his way of showing concern then he is really lacking with affection."

Hibiki heard that last line which made a chuckle escape from his lips. As far as he remembered Jin's affectionate side only ever came out around Tsubaki and even then it was hard to identify it as 'affection'. It was clear that the blonde's social skills were rather lacking, especially when it came to the one person he clearly had grown attachment to.

"Sometimes…" Hibiki her begin to speak, "Sometimes I wish things were back to the way they were when we were in the Academy." Tsubaki sighed with defeat as she rolled over onto her back with her eyes meeting to the wooden ceiling above her. "Back when he was nicer."

"You mean that façade he wore in his Academy days?" Hibiki mumbled, catching the red head's attention. "Don't get me wrong, he's always held a soft spot for you. But, even if his overall personality has changed don't forget that Jin has been rather distant since he was a child. In the Academy he may have been nicer in general, but he did have to keep up with appearances of being the student council president."

Tsubaki dipped her head down in response, a little confused by Hibiki's words. The black-haired boy then turned to Tsubaki as he smiled at her. "Oh forgive me, I got carried away. My overall point was even though he seemed nicer back then, it doesn't mean he now cares less for you. He's just more… reserved."

"I guess you've got a point there." Her mind tried to make her paranoid however. Doubts of Jin actually caring about her until a memory of him came to her mind. 'If that is all I must do to bring you back, then my life is a cheap price to pay.' Ten days have gone by since then, since he tried to lay down his own life for her without any hesitation or second thought. This memory brought her a smile to her face. She subtly slipped her hand up to her chest, clutching tightly at the fabric as she felt her heart beating powerfully behind the cloth. "…Yeah…" She closed her eyes slightly, "It's all good." She mumbled as her face grew hot once more.

He's subtle… but, that's his way.

* * *

Ragna was on his hands and knees panting, covered in cold sweat as he found his head pulsating. He gripped onto the side of his head, hopping if he pressed his fingers into the temple would help soothe the ache. It didn't. "Gah, get out of my head!" Ragna commanded as the pulsating did not lessen. A odd sensation be fell him as the pulsating continued, it felt as if something was being forcefully being pumped into the silver hair man's head. "W-What the hell is this?" Ragna luckily managed to spit before collapsing to his side, his body becoming weak as his vision hazed.

"No… not again." Ragna muttered out as he felt a memory painfully jolt its self to his attention, making him watch things he didn't remember…. Things he didn't want to remember."

Ragna and Jin were playing with a couple of toys, well more like Jin was invading Ragna's personal space as the younger brother would climb all over Ragna's lap or would sit himself so close to Ragna that he was basically on top of the poor kid. Which in return Ragna would shove Jin off from him, causing the younger blonde to roll from the mere force and he would give Ragna a pouty face that caused him to laugh in response.

After playing together for some time before their mother had walked in with a bright smile on her lips and a content gaze in her eyes. "Hello boys!" She greeted as she knelt in front of them with both her arms open wide.

"Mummy!" The two boys responded in unison, both latching their arms around her before she gently pushed them back after the hug, sitting in front of them with her hands now in her lap.

She looked them in the eyes with her warmth, "Hey boys, I have some wonderful news!" She watched their curious little faces curve up towards her. "I'm pregnant!" She announced causing Ragna to flare up with the excitement as he threw his arms around her once more to congratulate her while Jin stood there frozen from shock. The younger blonde couldn't find any strength to move his lips as he felt a sick feeling in his stomach.

Noticing this while holding Ragna within her arms as she called out, "Jin honey, what's wrong?"

Ragna then turned around to his little brother who hung his head low, "Jin?" He called out, once hearing the faint sobbing noise coming from his brother Ragna dropped his arms from their mother as he ran over to his little brother, giving him a tight hug as Jin borrowed his head into his chest.

After a few minutes of crying into his brothers arms, Jin gradually raised his head as he revealed the red cheeks and puffy eyes. "If.. i-if there *sniff* was… a-nother child… then b-brother… won't wove me as uch!" The blonde baby admitted embarrassedly as Ragna began to run his fingers through his brother's hair, trying to sooth the cry baby as much as he could.

Ragna was honestly surprised by his baby brother's response to this news, he thought Jin would be happy to be a big brother, but jealously was a thing that he never knew Jin would ever be. In a warm tone Ragna replied, "Jin, I'm always going to love you as much as I do now. But Jin, when the baby is here you can be their big brother! You can teach them everything you know, isn't that exciting?"

Ragna reassured his little brother, earning him a response of Jin removing his head from his chest as he gave Ragna a big bright smile. "YAY! I get to be a big brother too!" The boy began to jump and down with excitement as Ragna grinned, patting his little brother on the head roughly as it earnt him a chuckle from Jin.

'I hope the three of you will always be close like this.' Their mother thought to herself as she marvelled at the sight of shared affection between the two brothers. As wish she held close to her heart was for that her three children would make it through their hardships together as a team… something that was stupid to dream for…..

The memory faded along with the excruciating pain in his head. 'What the hell is all of this?' Ragna wondered to himself as he rolled over onto his back and raised his right hand into the voids sky, staring at his covered hand. 'I was created as a weapon…. Wasn't I? I never have seen that woman before…. Is she really my mother?'

"Guh!" Ragna groaned as the pulsating began once more as it allowed another memory to force it's way into Ragna's eyes. The next memory was brief and all he saw was his mother laying in a hospital bed with a blanket over her as she seemed to of been giving birth to what he presumed to be Saya. He stared in awe as he say the baby of his sister with her big green curious eyes and a tuff of golden hair, she looked so innocent… she was so innocent and yet, as time went on Ragna pondered to himself exactly what happened to his beloved family. What made his brother and sister become such messed up people, true Jin had that damn sword to blame but, what could have made Saya into such a… monster?

Ragna groaned once more before muttering, "Why did everything change?"

At that moment a pair of arms coiled around his neck, creating a uncomfortable yet, warm feeling around him. "Awww Ragna, you're so silly. Worrying over things that don't matter." Her voice purred into his ear in a creepy manner. Ragna refused to look at the silver haired girl as she rested her head onto his shoulder, leaning forward plant a quick sweet kiss on the rough skin of his cheek. "Awww, are you ignoring Nu again?" She giggled into his ear as her arms began to retract, allowing her hands to find their way onto his shoulders as they began massage them. "Ragna, you're so tense."

As she massaged his shoulders and back his body refused to relax a single muscle, not wanting to give her any satisfaction from the 'affection' she had provided him. Ragna grunted out of annoyance, why out of all the people he knew in the world why did he have to be stuck with her? He would of preferred anyone else, even the rabbit.

Ragna forcefully pushed the girl backwards, prying her hands away from him as he stood up from where she sat. "Ragna?" She called out in a sickly-sweet tone, one that made his stomach churn.

"Stop talking to me, will ya?" He grumbled under his breath with his back to the girl as he walked forward, leaving her behind on the cold hard surface from where she sat. 'Surely there's a way out of here… there has to be.' Ragna thought to himself as he continued to make distance between himself and Nu. As her continued to walk along he felt as if someone were watching him, he stopped, silently he looked around with his emerald and ruby gaze, scanning all around him to see nothing but the pitch-black void.

Until his eyes scanned over the white outline of a figure…. "Who… who are you?"

The figure stayed silent for a while and the only response he received was the soulless stare of emerald. Eventually as the silence held the figure finally spoke back, their voice was distorted with a almost stacticy sound. "You… w…nt… to… e….sap?"

Not understanding what the figure said to him Ragna replied, "Wha'cha say?"

The outline of the figure walked closer before repeating themselves, "Do you want to escape?" Their speech came off less mechanically yet, still distorted between a deep yet, slightly feminine voice making it merely impossible for Ragna to figure out if he was speaking with a man or woman.

Ragna looked around in confusion before shifting his eyes back to the figure as he responded with caution, "Yes?"

The figure went silent as Ragna felt something familiar, almost as if he could feel wind lightly blowing through his clothes and hair, touching his skin with that oh-so familiar chill. The figure stretched a arm towards him, motioning it's hand for him to follow. He stood there at first, not knowing what to do especially if it were a trap. However, if it were a trap it would be better then being stuck with Nu, could it? Ragna felt one of his feet move forward as the other followed, forcing his body to follow this strange person… or thing.

Eventually the black void came to a end when shock grew within Ragna's mind, the figure had lead him to what looked like an exotic Japanese garden completed with cherry blossom trees and large pond that surrounded the centre where a small island sat. Although, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, giving it a very eerie vibe. "Where are we?"

"The exit… if you can make it to the center, you will have earnt your freedom."

Hearing this Ragna didn't hesitate, following the small path through the garden that lead to one of the two bridges to the centre he began to run across it. Half way over the bridge Ragna felt a force shove him backwards as it shocked his body. "GAH! What the hell is- Hey, you said that I can have my freedom!"

The figure slowly walked up to him as they replied coldly, "If you could make it to the centre. But, it seems you're not qualified yet…" The figure turned away from him before continuing to speak, "You have not witnessed any truths yet, once you have seen it through their eyes… you shall have the will to pass."

"See what? And who's eyes? Stop playing the fricken pronoun game and just tell me already!" Ragna snapped with aggravation.

All the presence replied with was, "My advice… allow yourself to observe the memories that come to you… There you'll find the key to your freedom." With those words, the figure turned away, leaving Ragna behind with a feeling of dread and confusion in his mind.

* * *

Jin sat on the platform as he enjoyed the icy breeze that flowed through his hair and clothes, normal people would have been complaining from how freezing it was on top of that tower, but not Jin, he found it rather peaceful. He then heard foot steps clunking against the heavy of the platform he sat on, thinking it was Tsubaki for some odd reason his body moved on its own as if instinct had taken over and the next thing Jin knew was that he was pulling a pose to make himself appear more badass. His sword prompt up against him while he shifted his legs in a kneeling position, which made the blonde feel ridiculous for doing something that only a child would do.

He didn't move his head from the view in front of him, however his eyes glanced over to see Jubei making his way around the corner of the building as he hobbled over towards the blonde. "You should be resting, feline." Jin grumbled.

"I should be, but your little lady friend seems quite upset. What on tarnation did you do to her now?" Jubei hobbled over to the blonde who remained in his pose, the cat took a seat beside him as he dangled his hind legs over the edge.

Jin grumbled inaudibly for a moment before replying lowly, "Her and I have a difference of opinions."

"Difference of opinion? Or is it that you're fighting over the Izayoi again?" Jin turned his head away which made the cat nod in response, "Jin, I know you care about her, but if she wants to use the Izayoi then it's her decision and you need to respect that." Jin went to open his mouth, only for Jubei to interrupt him. "I know she means a lot to ya, hell I know the pain of seeing a loved one hurt themselves. But Jin, if you want her to stop using the Izayoi so badly then let her do it on her own terms."

"BUT WHAT IF SHE GOES BLIND?!" Jin shouted in anger to the cat with a angered look in his eyes, regardless of his outburst however Jubei smiled silently at him which made the blonde feel a little guilty from yelling. He then let out a grunt before getting up from where he sat and headed back around to the other side of the building.

"You gotta long way to go still, Jin." Jubei mumbled to himself quietly as he continued to watch the forest below them for any signs of the unwanted presence that may lurked below.

Jin placed his hand onto the handle of the door as he pushed it open to enter the singular room. When Hibiki saw Jin enter he got up from where he sat beside Tsubaki and walked towards the blonde, giving him a smile as he passed by and exited the room. Tsubaki sat up and looked at Jin as he did with her, he then walked over to her and sat down beside her.

A silence began to grow between the two childhood friend's as they both sat side by side, not saying a word or even looking at each other. They sat like that for a while before finally turning to each other, speaking in unison as they said:

"I'm sorry, Tsubaki."

"I'm sorry, Jin."

The two stopped speaking for a moment in shock before smiles crept up onto their faces, giggling amongst themselves before Tsubaki was the first to speak, "I'm sorry, Jin. I know you're worried about me and I shouldn't have snapped at you for being protective of me." She gave him a warm smile as he opened his arms up in response, allowing her to scoot closer as she pressed her body into his as she accepted his hug.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't of called you such awful things, not just now but in the past as well. I know it's wrong and… I am sorry for all that. I-it's just that you worry me." He admitted as he rested his chin on top of her red silky hair.

Tsubaki felt her cheeks grew hot as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. She then replied with that soft sweet tone she'd use to comfort him during his past struggles. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just… I'm not as strong as Noel, Makoto or even you, Jin. In order to fight I need the Izayoi."

"Even if it steals your light?"

Tsubaki pulled her head away as she stared into Jin's piercing eyes, "Yes!" She sternly responded, "I'm sorry, but I need the Izayoi. I reply on it."

Jin's hand snaked its way down to where Tsubaki's was, pulling it up in front of them both as he laced his gloved fingers with hers. He then looked into her eyes with a determined look in them, one that made Tsubaki's heart yearn for him to just hold her within his arms forever. "Rely on me." He whispered causing Tsubaki's face to flush and her heart to beat faster.

"J-Jin." She stuttered as she closed her eyes while opening her mouth slightly as she moved her head closer to Jin.

When Jin came to the realization of what was happening he swallowed hard, wondering to himself if he should take Tsubaki up on her offer to share a first kiss. His face flushed and sweat trickled down his forehead as he internally battled with himself on whether or not to give into a hidden desire and to lean forward.

Jin steadily reached his other hand forward as it found Tsubaki's cheek, cupping it within his palm. She flinched from the mere touch, her eyes still clenched shut as she waited for Jin's answer. The blonde found himself beginning to lean his face forward as his eyes slowly began to shut, his mouth mere centimetres from hers before the both of them found themselves instinctively pulling back as they heard the wooden door creek open as Hibiki walked in, wide eyed as he realised what he may have just walked in on. "A-ah, sorry." Hibiki was usually rather emotionless, however this sent the black-haired boy to stutter out as he felt both awkward and embarrassed.

The moment disappeared as Jin found himself pulling away completely as he unlaced his fingers from hers. Her eyes watched silently as Jin was getting up from the bed, muttering in an almost flustered manner, "I have the first watch, so y-you'd better rest up." With that Jin had left the room, leaving behind the two.

Tsubaki's face was completely red, _'Busted..'_ She thought to herself as she struggled to make any eye contact with Hibiki at all.

Hibiki looked away from the girl as he quietly mumbled, "Ah- sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to see if I could get the radio working to contact Kagura." Hibiki explained as he slowly shuffled towards where the radio sat at the end of the room, covered in dust and some small cobwebs.

"L-Let me help you then." Tsubaki offered as she got up from the bed, finding a small smile growing across her lips as she tried to cover it up. _'So… he may feel the same?'_ The moment those words crossed her mind however, as she remembered something. Something like guilt. The one thing that currently held her back from accepting the idea of either three of her friends to give her any sort of affection. _The guilt that no-so long ago did she try to kill them all; The guilt that was born from her one weakness... jealously._ Her stomach felt as if it were Colling on its self as she clutched it in pain.

Hibiki noticed this odd action from the corner of his eye as he turned to look at the red head beside him as he asked, "Are you alright, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki nodded in response as she released he grip she had on her stomach, she replied in an anxious tone, "I-I'm fine, thank you. Just got a bit of a stomach ache is all." As usual she resorted to lie to cover her feelings. It was cruel of her, but it helped her. Even if it hurt to do it, despite how small of a lie it was.

Hibiki brought it, letting out a sigh he turned around to the radio as he began to flick the on and off switch. No power as it would seem. It didn't take him and Tsubaki long to find the generator to power the radio, however putting the power back on could have been a beacon of their location if any of the lights were to turn on. He took the risk, luckily who ever was in the tower last left all the lights of and he managed to turn the radio on, which just left him with the task of being able to contact Kagura.

* * *

 **A/N: And now I've updated after a week and a half after figuring out how not to distract myself while writing XD Except more updates soon, not only with this fic, but as well as some other old classics of mine. I'm starting to get really excited with this story especially because the more I progress I fine different ways to "play" with the cast involved. Especially what I have planned for poor Ragna~ (I love Ragna for the record and I'm so sorry to any fans of his) Anyways, please feel free to leave a review on this, was the JinxTsubaki moment too soon? What do you guys think will happen to Ragna over the next few chapters? I'd appreciate it if you guys would share your thoughts with me as it would help me greatly. Thank you and I'll see you all next time. **


	6. A new possibility

**Chapter 6: A new possibility**

* * *

"Why would he just run off like that, big brother Kagura?" Taro sobbed as he latched his hands onto Kagura's cape that draped over his shoulders, tugging it as the younger man frantically tugged at the cotton fabric.

While Taro was panicking both Kokonoe and Kagura sat there calmly. After both Jin and Tsubaki had already snuck out of their base they no longer had the patience to panic. What would it do for them anyways? The only thing that did cause Kagura a bit of confusion was the fact that neither Noel or Makoto had snuck out to go after Tsubaki. It was odd to him, but what was odder was that Makoto had been avoiding everyone like the plague for a while now, or at least to Kagura's knowledge.

Kagura brushed the thought off as his younger cousin continued to ramble on in a frantic state, letting a chuckle escape from his mouth Kagura replied in a calm manner. "Taro, Taro, keep a level head here. Hibiki would have left to make sure that Jinny is all safe and sound. So, don't worry about them." Kagura then reached to the coffee table in front of his to grab his now cold half full mug of coffee and gently swished the mug around. "I know you're so worried about them, but Hibiki and Jin are tough boys. They can handle themselves." Kagura then took a sip of his cold bitter coffee, his face distorted into a displeased expression as he resisted the urge to spit out the beverage.

"Besides we've got more serious shit to deal with right now, like Ragna's whereabouts… or the boy's." Kokonoe cut in crisply before unwrapping a lollipop from its wrapper before placing it into her mouth.

"Well what do we do in the meantime?" Taro asked confused as he plumped down onto the couch.

Kagura shot the boy a smirk as he replied, "Obviously, it's a coffee break. After ten minutes we'll get back to work." The moment he said that his hand-held radio began to create static before the faint voice of Hibiki's could be heard. Kagura lent forward and picked the radio off the table as he held the button on it to respond, "Hey Hibiki, what are you up to?"

Kagura stayed silent as he heard Hibiki tell him of their situation. "Oh, really?" His voice disappeared again as he listened to the younger boy on the other line. "Alright, well I believe it would be best if the four of you would return to base. I know everyone is determined to make progress in finding Homura and even Ragna, but I'd appreciate it if they all came in for treatment first." His voice once more fell silent, he stayed like that for a couple of minutes before replying, "Alright, just hold tight for the night and I'll come for you guys in the morning… Alright, see you then, Hibiki." Kagura placed the radio back onto the table as he turned to his younger cousin.

"To put your mind at ease, Taro. They're all safe. Jin, Tsubaki and Hibiki are all in the same as well, so I'm going to pick them all up tomorrow if you'd like to come?" Kagura's offer made Taro jump up with excitement like a small child being taken out a fast food joint.

"Awesome, big bro!"

Kokonoe then called from the side, "So, you're gonna tell Makoto and Noel?" She looked at Kagura who held a smirk on his face.

"Sure, I could do that." Kagura got up from where he sat, an excitement grew within himself as he felt eager to see two of the most beautiful women he had ever been blessed with the chance to meet. The strong knight walked down the hallway towards the girl's room, snatching up some flowers from a vase he passed as he closed in on the door to their room.

He gently knocked on the oak based door and waited for a response, but he was met with the air full of nothing but silence. He knocked a bit heavier this time as he called out their names, "Noel, Makoto? Are you babes in there?" As he called out to them he heard a faint thud coming from the room next door down. "Hm?" Kagura glanced to the bathroom door for a moment before walking towards that door and gently placed his ear against it. Inside he heard what could be described a violent gagging noises which alerted the black knight.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Kagura shouted as he latched his hand onto the door knob and began to twist it. Just as he began to push it open he was met in the door's crack with Noel, who stood in the way of his complete view of the bathroom.

"K-Kagura!?" She squeaked with her high pitched tone. "W-What are you doing here?"

Kagura looked at the blonde with a puzzled gaze before noticing from the corner of his vision he spotted Makoto in the bathroom, tucked away in the corner in front of the toilet. She huddled over the bowel as she clutched at her stomach tightly. "Makoto baby, are you okay?" Kagura called out for the squirrel only to be met with silence from her and a blonde standing in his way as she refused him any entry.

"S-Sorry Kagura, we're kinda... b-busy." She stampered as she quickly shut the door on the colonel, not even allowing him to speak another word to either of them.

Kagura stood silently on the other side of the door, before mumbling to himself, "Well...that was weird." He scratched at the back of his head before gently calling through the door. "Alright, I'll leave you babes alone. Just... I hope you're feeling better soon, Makoto!" He then shuffled back from the door as promised and began to walk back down the hallway, placing the few flowers he brought back into their home as he passed the vase. _'Did she eat something bad?'_ He wondered to himself.

* * *

" _You're pathetic! The only reason brother ever pays attention to you is because your weak!" A younger Jin shoved his little sister into the dirt below them causing the cotton of her white dress to become tarnished with the color of brown. A whimper escaped from her lips as she hit the ground below, not that her brother cared as he carelessly squatted down beside her as he scoped some dirt into the palm of his hand before pegging it into the small girl's face causing her to cough and wheeze in reaction._

" _Trash!" Jin grunted as he walked up to Saya before reaching down to her as he viciously grabbed her around the wrist of her arm, not even allowing her to get her proper footing on the ground as he began to drag her along the dirt, to the grass and then over some gravel that cut at her legs._

 _After letting out a yelp of pain however, the older blonde flinched as he heard a deeper voice snap as the two siblings turned to see their older brother Ragna charging towards them. Jin in an instant let go of Saya's wrist as he quickly turned away from her, facing his brother as he gasped, "B-Brother?!" The blonde for a moment sounded cheerful to see his brother once more, but as Ragna passed him, completely ignoring him for Saya it made his blood boil. After all, it was the whole reason Jin bullied their younger sister in the first place._

 _Jin turned away from the two as he grinded his teeth against themselves as he listened in to that sickly-sweet love his brother gave their sister instead of him. The little girl stayed huddled on the ground as Ragna cautiously approached her, he reached a hand out to offer his baby sister some help and with a warm smile he asked, "Are you alright, Saya?" He asked in a soft tone as his sister's dainty hand curled around his before he pulled her up to her feet._

 _The moment the little blonde reached her feet she slammed her body into Ragna's as she threw her arms around him, calling his name as she did. "Brother Ragna!" Her voice was so high pitched and held a sweet innocence to it, unlike her two brothers who were close to reaching the age where their sweet voices would become course and deep._

 _Ragna chuckled from how cute she was as he gladly returned the hug, hearing Jin scoff from behind him as he chose to embrace her instead of his whiny brother. "I'll make you both pay…"_

 _The memory continued to blur however as a flash of white light consumed Ragna's sight, before spitting back out to the familiar reality he faced with at least ten years ago._

" _GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" His screams of pain pierced his now adult ears as he watched his younger self bleed out from the severed stump that was where his arm was moments ago. He fell forward as his body harshly collided into the ground below, barely having any strength as he lifted his head to see in front of him was his two younger siblings. Saya's expression was hidden from his sight, while Jin wore a twisted smile that painted its self into Ragna's memory. It's bone chilling grin that thirst for his death._

" _JIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ragna bellowed out but was met with the laughter and cackles from not only his brother; but a man in a suit with green spiked hair who stood behind his siblings. "JIN! SAYA!?"_

" _Fuck…" His arm continued to throb as blood violently oozed out of his arm in a rapid pace. He felt helpless and his siblings didn't seem to care to help him, and the sister was dead. He was all alone. No one there to fight for him, no one there to protect him. It was always like this and it never changed. Not even when he lost control of his arm and Jin, Noel, Tsubaki and Makoto couldn't do anything for him._

 _Ragna stood there as he shield his eyes from that gruesome memory that continued to play out in his head. It made his stomach twisted viciously as he remembered the pain that Terumi had caused him and his siblings both psychically and mentally, that day._

 _He was then brought out of his memories as he spotted that shadowy figure that stood before him…._

" _What the hell are you looking at?" Ragna growled at the eerie figure whose eyes were still as hazy as the body that they belonged to. Its mere presence played on Ragna's mind as his body fort the urge to shake from the nerve racking feeling the shadow induced._

 _The figure staggered it's way over to Ragna, still no features to define whether it was a person or even the possible gender it may have had. As the figure continued to walk forward Ragna cautiously stepped back from it, revealing his obvious discomfort. Even if the figure wasn't annoying like Nu at least Ragna could see her face. This was the only time he would ever admit that girl with the silver hair brought him an odd sense of comfort._

" _You continue to deny these memories of yours." The figure spoke with its cryptic way of wording things._

 _Ragna scoffed, "You really think now of all times that I would even be the slightest bit curious about my past? News flash dude, I don't care about my past. I just want to leave here."_

" _You seem tense, Ragna the Bloodegde." The figure replied._

 _Ragna looked to the figure with a dumbfounded expression, surprised that the figure really had no compassion, let alone emotions. "Tense? You've got to be joking!" Ragna snapped, "Hey, wanna know why I'm so tense? It's because I have no idea where I am or even why I'm here. But, then on top of that I'm stuck here with you and Nu." Ragna paced back and forth in front of the figure, never taking his eyes off the figure who continued to watch him silently as if they were observing him._

 _The figure stood there emotionless as Ragna continued to fume, "Also, why the hell do I have to watch these fricken memories? I know who I am, I don't need to see all this pointless shit and I-" Ragna fell silent immediately as the figure placed it's hand over Ragna's lips._

" _Be silent, mortal." It hissed, removing it's hand before continuing. "You'll watch and endure what I choose to show you and you will not question this process again!"_

' _Process?' Ragna replayed that single word in his mind as the figure walked up to him as it placed the palm of its clawed hand onto Ragna's forehead in a painful manner as yet another memory was pushed into his mind. "GAH!"_

 _As Ragna was forced to endure the memory that painfully replayed in his mind; the shadowy figure took a step back as Ragna's body stood there emotionless before collapsing to the floor below his feet. The figure lent down to it's knees as it gazed down to Ragna's face, watching that pained expression on his face as it softly mumbled, "I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for her…" It's harsh attitude faded away to show more of it's depth as a person._

" _Doing it for her? You know I'm the same person, right?" Izanami spoke from behind the dark figure, a grin brimming from cheek to cheek. The figure stayed silently as it continued to watch Ragna's face twitch violently which caused Izanami to giggle, "Ah, do I detect a hint of empathy for my brother from you?" She grinned again as she stared at the figure. "You really should feel-"_

" _Just shut the hell up." The figure lost their calm demurer, it's voice distinctly coming through as a deep gruff male's voice._

" _Heheh, you never change, do you? No matter what timeline we're in, you always return to that foul mouth of yours." She giggled before turning away from the figure._

" _He's.." The figure began, "He's not like me. He isn't as weak or vulnerable as I was. This Ragna refuses to fall prey to the Azure's power. I… do respect him for that." The figure replied._

"… _..Let him go."_

" _Hmm?"_

" _Let Ragna out of here. His soul still refuses to merge. If he were to show his vulnerability… maybe, then we can finally pull him over." Izanami commanded, causing the figure to look at her with an extremely surprised expression. She looked to Ragna's unconscious body with a spark in her eyes as she ignored the figure. 'You shall return to me, brother.'_

 _With that brief encounter Izanami left the figure alone with Ragna._

 _The pain Ragna had subconscious endured soon faded away along with the memory of his past, allowing him to free himself from his slumber as his eyes met with the white void and the shadow who stood beside him._

 _The figure was the first to speak between the two of them, "You may go…"_

 _Ragna's eyebrows raised as he mumbled, "W-ah?" He slurred before gaining his composure. "What do you mean?" But, with no response Ragna suddenly found himself in the centre of the island in the garden where the figure said he could find his freedom. "What the hell is going on?" Ragna questioned as his eyes darted around, searching for the figure or even Nu. However, he failed to find neither now._

 _He turned to the middle where a small rose stood alone as it was surrounded by a patch of bright light. Ragna hesitated, but cautiously reached his hand out to the flower, pricking his finger against one of it's sharp thorns as blood began to drip from his index finger. "Ghh.." The light that surrounded the base of the flower then began to grow as it slowly swallowed Ragna within its glow, making his view completely blurr as he felt as if his body was falling from the sky._

 _It was a light feeling, but one that was met with a deep crash as his body impacted on something hard as he completely lost his conscience._

"… _.I am sorry." The figure spoke out to Ragna as the silver haired man finally fell out of the void, leaving the shadow alone to now deal with a lonely Nu… For the time being._

* * *

"Yes Colonel, understood." Hibiki responded back into the radio's speaker before placing it back down onto it's station. He then turned around to Tsubaki who stared in curiosity. "Alright, I've managed to contact the Colonel. He advised us to stay for the night and in the morning, he'll be over with a squad to retrieve us."

"Ah, I see. I'll go and report this information to Jin then." She gave a salute to Hibiki before turning away from him and headed towards the door, opening it to find Jin leaning against the railing. She felt her cheeks heat up from their interaction from earlier which made her feel embarrassed. Regardless she fort through the feeling as she spoke out loud, "Hey Jin?"

The blonde's head was facing to the scenery of the lake before he turned it towards her, his hair gently blowing through the breeze as he replied, "What is it, Tsubaki?"

"Captain Hibiki managed to contact Colonel Kagura. The Colonel has told us to remain here for the night and in the morning, he'll have a squad come and retrieve us." Tsubaki watched as Jin turned his head away from her, returning his gaze to the lake in front of them. He was silent, and Tsubaki felt herself hesitate at first when her hand instinctively reached out to Jin, eventually finding it to rest onto Jin's firm shoulder. "…Jin…"

"I'm not returning to base." He mumbled.

"What?" She gasped in response. "But, you can't-"

"Ragna has become the black beast. My soul reason for existing is to destroy him." Jin leant over the railing as he stared long and hard at the ground below.

"You're wrong!"

"Tsubaki?" He turned to the redhead beside him who stood there looking fired up.

"How can you even live thinking like that?" She snapped with an uncharacteristic attitude. "What happens if you defeat Ragna? What? Are you just going end your life after his?" Jin continued to stay silent, he couldn't even begin to describe how surprised he was at Tsubaki's reaction. "Besides, why do you have to be the one to kill Ragna?"

"It's my duty as the Power of Order." He responded bluntly.

"Duty? Jin, you don't have to anything just because you have that power!" She argued back, her face turning red and her eyes grew to become shiny.

"I do have to, Tsubaki. If I don't step up no one else won't be able to defeat Ragna. Besides, I was born to fight him and once he's gone from this world I'll-"

"Just leave me?"

"What?" Jin gasped in shock.

"What, so once you kill Ragna, you're just going to leave me?" She questioned him as she reached forward, her arms latching around Jin's masculine body as he trailed his arms around her. "Why?" She muttered as she felt her voice crack slightly. "Why do you want that so bad?" She looked up at him with a stern gaze, "Is that really all you've ever thought about? Isn't there more to living then just following your destiny?"

"Tsuba-"

At that moment, down below on the forest floor a loud crash could be heard as the ground shook the watch tower furiously, almost sending the two flying off if it weren't for Jin's quick reflexes of latching a hand onto the railing with Tsubaki wrapped tightly in his free arm.

Once the shaking had died down, both Hibiki and Jubei walked to where Jin and Tsubaki stood as Hibiki yelled, "What on earth was that?!" His eyes budged wide as the four all exchanged startled glances to one another.

"W-was that Azreal?" Tsubaki uttered out in fear as the four raced to the railing, while dipping their heads forward to look down at the ground below. It was pitch black down there and the only thing their eyes could see were the thick tree tops.

However, Jin felt an odd yet familiar sensation course through his body as he muttered under his breath, "Brother?"

"Hmm?" Tsubaki heard Jin mumble but didn't hear what he said exactly before finding herself being unravelled from his arm as he raced into the room. "Jin? Where are you going?!" She followed him, along with Hibiki and Jubei; who stayed up in the watch tower in case the three needed to quickly get back into the tower from any possible dangers.

Jin was the first to descend to the ground as he jumped off the bottom of the ladder, allowing his boots to sink ever so slightly into the soil below, followed by Tsubaki and Hibiki. Jin didn't waste any time waiting for the two as he sprinted off among the tree's, causing Tsubaki and Hibiki having to call out for him several times as they followed him.

He didn't go too far from the watch tower as he found what had made that loud crash. "BROTHER!" Jin cried out as he saw Ragna laying there, his body looking lifeless as he laid still on the forest floor. Half his body coated in a black ooze with the same red pulsating veins they had before he left them.

Jin knelt beside the silver spiked hair man's body as he gently nudged the man. Tsubaki gasped in horror once she and Hibiki caught up. Completely shocked to find Ragna there of all places and for him to be in the form of a human again sent shivers down her spine. "Jin, please be careful." She gently called to Jin who was looking over his brother's body head to toe.

"He's still alive, but barely breathing." Jin mumbled.

"I'll go report this to the Colonel immediately!" Hibiki announced as he bolted back towards the tower to go phone Kagura over the radio.

"Tsubaki, could you please help me carry him back?" Jin asked the red head as he placed the oozed covered arm around his shoulder blades as he hoisted his brother up. She hesitated, not wanting anything to do with Ragna after the injuries he caused Jin, however she agreed as she slipped herself underneath Ragna's limp arm, curving it over her shoulder as she help Jin carry him back towards the watch tower.

It proved a struggle, but eventually after some hard effort Jin and Tsubaki managed to finally pull Ragna's up the ladder and into the room of the watch tower. After placing Ragna onto the bed, Hibiki got back onto the radio to contact Kagura while Jin, Tsubaki and Jubei stood beside the unconscious man as ooze continued to drip off his arm. _'None of this make sense…'_ Jin looked down to his brother as he squinted his eyes. _'Last we saw you... You were nothing more then a beast and yet now you're…'_ Hr grinned his teeth, _'…You shouldn't be here…'_

Jubei looked at Ragna with a somber look, before hearing Hibiki hang up on the radio as he turned to the young captain. "So, what's yer boss tell'in us?"

"He's sending a squad out to us immediately. So for the time being, we'll just stay put."

* * *

After explaining the situation to Kagura within a little over an hour a squad had finally reached the watch tower to retrieve everyone. Allowing them a safe return from that Mad Dog infested forest, and back to HQ where some of them may be able to find answers.

"So you're telling me that you literally heard a loud crash and felt the earth shake, but there was no signing of Ragna as a beast. Just an unconscious body?" Kokonoe questioned the four from the watch tower.

"Pretty much." Jin grumbled, "The only thing other then that was I felt the black beast's presence before we found my br- Ragna outside." Jin explained as both Kokonoe and Kagura exchanged worried glances among one another.

"…I see.." Kokonoe placed a finger against her chin as she felt her brain slowly falling into a deep trance as she began to come up with hypotheses and possible conclusions on the spot.

"Well for now I suggest we bring Ragna to your laboratory, Kokonoe. So that way we can monitor him better." Kagura walked over to Ragna and with Jin's help the two men carried Ragna to the basement with Jubei and Hibiki following behind.

All that there was left in the room was Tsubaki sitting on the couch and Kokonoe who stood in front of her, squinting her eyes at the red head making her feel uncomfortable. "Hey Yayoi, could I talk to you for a moment?" Kokonoe's voice quieter than usual, making Tsubaki even more uncomfortable.

The red head looked at the pink haired beastkin and frowned, she didn't like the scientist and neither did she after the comment Tsubaki made about her mother. But, the two weren't going to start bickering like children now. Kokonoe then motioned for Tsubaki to follow her down the hallway towards the bed rooms, carefully making sure that no one was nearby to over hear their conversation.

"Look, I know why you left.." Tsubaki squinted her eyes in a response, "Look, I know its none of my business and I don't personally care for this type of shit or anything. But, you'll need to decide soon on whether you're going to keep it or not. Since in your condition we may not be able to send you into battle."

"My condition?" Tsubaki raised a eyebrow as she was baffled from Kokonoe's awkward conversation.

Kokonoe let out an aggravated sigh as she explained, "Look… I saw your positive pregnancy test in the bin of my lab's trash the day you left." Kokonoe pulled a scrunched expression as she continued, "Look, I know it's scary at the moment, but you can't let this distrac-"

"I'M NOT PREGNANT!" Tsubaki snapped furiously as her face burned up with a red tinge across her cheeks.

'WHOA! Whoa, clam down. I made a mistake then. I just assumed because you left when I found it. Also, judging by your stomach size I'd at least say your about six weeks pregnant." Kokonoe tilted her head to the side as she gazed at Tsubaki's stomach who used her cape to shield her belly from the cat beastkin's view.

"How dare you!"

"Look I'm sorry, okay?" Kokonoe growled back, "I was attempting to be nice to you." The scientist then pushed her glasses up her nose before glancing at Tsubaki. "Alright then, if this test isn't yours then who does it belong to?" Tsubaki then gave Kokonoe a questionable look, causing the cat to lash out. "HEY! Don't even think about that! I've hit menopause a while ago!"

"Well, it was in your bin." Tsubaki murmured lowly to herself before turning to look down the hallway as she asked out loud, "Alright then, who's is it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Kokonoe grumbled, "Look at the end of the day the only reason I need to know is because we're short on men as it is. If someone is planning to take a maternity leave then I need to know ASAP so that I can find replacements sooner rather then later"

"Kokonoe?" That concluded their conversation as Kokonoe heard Kagura calling out for her from the basement, turning away from the red head she headed for the stairs leading her to the basement, leaving the red head alone to her thoughts.

' _Someone's pregnant?'_ The thought ran through her mind as she walked down the hallway, looking for her two buddies. _'Couldn't be Noel… She's too shy.'_ She checked the girl's bedroom to find no one. She turned away from the bed room to head towards the kitchen, only to stop in her tracks as she heard the noises of violently vomiting. _'…It.. can't be.'_

Without even knocking, Tsubaki pushed open the door to find Makoto kneeling in front of the toilet with her head burrowed into the bowel with Noel beside her, helping support the beastkin's body. "T-Tsubaki?! Oh, my god! What are you doing here?!" The sheepish girl cried out in joy as she continued to hold the beastkin who slowly turned her head to the red head, revealing her sick ridden face.

"Makoto…" Tsubaki looked at the beastkin with concern, "…Are you alright?" The moment she looked at the beastkin's face and having her brief conversation with Kokonoe, Tsubaki knew immediately who the owner of the positive test was.

The beastkin pulled herself away from the toilet as she lent up against the wall, looking fragile, unlike her usual hyper self. She looked at Tsubaki as she felt shame sink into her skin, burrowing her head into her knees she softly cried out, "So you've figured it out?"

"Figured out what, Makoto?" Noel asked, still like a child she was ignorant to signs such as these to figure out what was going on.

Makoto let out a deep sigh as she shifted so she could pull her tail between her legs to cuddle it as she burrowed her face into it, her muffle voice announced, "I'm…. I'm pregnant." The beastkin's face went bright red and she further stuffed her face into the soft brown fur.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" Noel spluttered out in complete shock, "But, what…?"

Makoto wasn't surprised from Noel's reaction, but she feared lift her head to meet the eyes of Tsubaki's. Those disappointed gleam in her sapphire eyes that would make the beastkin feel ashamed of her actions. Something that was rare for the hyperactive squirrel to feel as she lived a care-free life.

Eventually the beastkin lifted her head slowly, expecting to be met from a long harsh scolding from her red head friend. However, she wasn't met with any of that. Instead the beastkin was surprised by Tsubaki throwing her arms around the scared beastkin, pulling her into a warm embrace as she asked, "Are you alright, Makoto?"

Makoto froze in shock from her red head friend's reaction. No scolding, just holding and comfort. Makoto sunk her head into Tsubaki's chest as Noel wrapped her arms around the beastkin too, the two giving her comfort as she began to let out a sniff before tears began to roll down her cheeks as she burst out crying. "I'm not okay, I'm not okay at all!" She sobbed, "I feel scared and lost."

"I know, it's hard..." Tsubaki did her best to offer comfort through her use of words. "Just know... that we're here for you."

Noel pulled away from Makoto however, as she hesitated, but managed to find the courage as she asked, "So… umm… who's the father, Makoto?" Tsubaki tilted her head as Noel did, both giving the beastkin an uncomfortable look as their curiosity grew.

"Actually, yeah. Who is the father?" Tsubaki added in.

The beastkin chuckled nervously before swallowing audibly. "Well…. You see…. It's uhhh… it's-"

* * *

 **Word count:5,214**

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long-awaited update. I've been extremely busy with work placement and I might be finally getting a job once more, so I may not have a lot of time to be writing stories. Not that anyone reads them… _; But anyways, thank you to ForgottenBeast who acted as my kind beta reader for some scenes here and there in this chapter. I really appreciated your help.**

 **So yeah, I might write again soon. I dunno, but to those who did pick up this story (and my other works.) Thank you so much for your support, its really appreciated and it really does help motivate me. I'm just sorry I'm losing the will to write. Hearing other people in other stories say things like, "No one writes JinxTsubaki anymore." Those comments have been burning me out honestly, so that's why I've been struggling to bother continuing my works. That and everyone keeps disappearing who does support me. ANYWAYS, enough of my rambling. Thank you for reading and I'll see you at some point. Thank you.**


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